OPEC output unchanged

VIENNA, Austria -- OPEC members have informally agreed to leave official oil output unchanged following Iraq's suspension of exports.

But the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries delegates also agreed to meet again for an emergency session on July 3 to decide how best to respond to Iraq's stoppage of U.N.-administered crude sales.

"OPEC and the market needs time to assess if Iraq's decision will cause a crisis," Reuters quoted Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah saying following two hours of talks in Vienna on Tuesday.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi indicated that OPEC would probably need to take action and add to production if the outage lasted for the month that Iraq is threatening.

"We do not know what Iraq's game plan is," Reuters reported Naimi saying. "Will this last a day, a week, a month? We don't know what the game plan is."

But with output at 24.2 million barrels daily, OPEC ministers have said ample crude inventories and stable prices mean there is no need to panic over Baghdad's decision.

Iraq halted its 2.1 million barrels in daily oil sales on Monday as a protest against the U.N. Security Council's decision to extend by one month, instead of the usual six, the programme under which Iraq can sell oil.

OPEC members produces 40 percent of the world's oil needs. Although Iraq belongs to OPEC, it does not participate in production agreements with the group's other 10 members.

Iraq's OPEC representative, Taha Humud Musa, was quoted by Reuters as saying supplies would stay on hold for at least the duration of the extension to early July.

Non-OPEC member Russia said on Tuesday that it would not boost oil exports in response to Iraq's cut, saying OPEC could pick up the slack.

The U.N.'s one-month renewal of the oil-for-food programme was meant to give it time to consider an Anglo-American proposal lifting restrictions on civilian goods imports but placing tighter controls on military-related supplies and oil smuggling.

The 11-year-old sanctions are a legacy of the Gulf War. Iraq wants all sanctions lifted.

Iraq was continuing its permitted sales to neighbours Turkey, Jordan and Syria this week.