Fahmi: Arab states not benefiting much from oil price hikes

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth Sameh Fahmi said the Arab states did not profit much from the oil price hikes last summer.

"The prices of crude Arab oil did not exceed $ 40," he said in an interview with the Arabic CNBC channel.

The minister said mounting oil demands encouraged the Arab states to invest more in the oil sector but this did not yield tangible revenues in view of rocketing equipment prices.

Fahmi said the role of the two oil cartels, OPEC and the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), is confined to controlling production quotas but not prices.

He welcomed OPEC's recent decision to halt over-production by member countries and stick to the 27 million bpd.

The minister said Egypt, which enjoys an observer status in OPEC, has been asked to join the cartel, adding Cairo was considering the issue.

Fahmi denied that the government was currently mulling the possibility of raising fuel prices.