11.   OPEC ministers decided Thursday to maintain their current production ceiling despite new threats that Iraq will jump back into the oil market.

12.   OPEC ministers hope to finish their winter meeting Thursday with their current production ceiling in place despite the possibility that Iraq will jump back into the oil market.

13.   OPEC agreed not to increase its existing production ceiling at its June meeting, in part to accommodate Iraq into the market.

14.   OPEC ministers resumed their winter meeting Thursday, ready to maintain their current production ceiling despite the possibility that Iraq will jump back into the oil market.

15.   Peter Bogin, an associate director at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Paris, said a higher OPEC production ceiling would likely only give markets a brief worry.

16.   Analysts widely expect OPEC to roll over its production ceiling, with ministers hoping to avoid doing or saying anything that might spook the market.

17.   Analysts and several ministers, including Arrieta, predict that OPEC will grumble about the price, then roll over its production ceiling for another six months.

18.   Any new production ceiling would not be matched by an equal amount of new oil on the market.

19.   Arrieta and the United Arab Emirates minister, Obaid bin Saif al-Nasseri, predicted OPEC will roll over its production ceiling for another six months.

20.   He was not able to say how long the new production ceiling will stay in place.