- Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran have battled to get their candidates to succeed El-Badri as secretary-general
- OPEC's output ceiling is one million barrels below its current daily production
- Oil cartel anticipates demand for OPEC crude will contract to 29.7 million barrels per day.
Biggest Challenge is Uncertainty
The cartel on Wednesday said it had decided to maintain the target "given the demand uncertainties."
It added in a statement: "Indeed, the biggest challenge facing global oil markets in 2013 is uncertainty surrounding the global economy, with the fragility of the eurozone remaining a major concern.
"World oil demand is forecast to increase slightly during the year 2013; this is likely to be more than offset by the projected increase in non-OPEC supply" such as from the United States.
OPEC Projects Weakening Demand
"Projected demand for OPEC crude in 2013 is expected to contract to 29.7 mbpd."
A weakening of OPEC demand risks weighing on oil prices, despite a background of Middle Eastern unrest, notably over Iran's disputed nuclear program, analysts said.
Benchmark crude oil prices rose above $108 a barrel Wednesday on supply concerns after OPEC reported a drop in crude production last month, traders said.
The International Energy Agency, representing oil consumers, raised its estimate for global oil demand in the last three months of the year to 90.5 million barrels per day on Wednesday, the same level seen for 2013 as a whole.
It added that a slump in Iranian oil output to levels last seen during its wars with Iraq in the 1980s should continue into 2013, while Tehran insists it has not been affected by international sanctions.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
