WIRE:03/01/2000 13:33:00 ET BC-U.S. COULD RELEASE SPR OIL BEFORE OPEC MEETS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House does not have to wait until OPEC meets March 27 before deciding whether to release oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve through swaps with energy companies, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said on Wednesday. "We don't have to wait to decide on anything," Richardson told reporters, referring to the Energy Department's oil loan proposal. "There is no time limit." Under the Energy Department proposal, oil from the 570-billion-barrel stockpile would be loaned or swapped with energy companies, who would then sell it on the market to increase supplies and ease prices. The companies would have to replace the crude later this year with more barrels of oil, presumably when prices are lower.

Under U.S. law, oil from the stockpile can be sold only in response to a severe supply disruption.

Richardson refused to comment on news reports that Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico would agree on Thursday to recommend that OPEC increase its output by 1.2 million barrels per day beginning in April.

"I don't want to speculate on what they might do," he said, speaking to reporters after nearly three hours of testimony before the House International Relations committee on OPEC policy. "We'll see what happens."

He said during the hearing that world oil production was about two million barrels a day short of demand levels.

In his testimony, Richardson said he expected OPEC would vote to increase oil production at its March 27 meeting. "The key will be the level and timing of that increase," he said

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20000301_2319.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 01, 2000