It is not much to ask for - and this week, the City may finally get its answer. Confusion has reigned in the oil market of late and the hope is that Opec's meeting to discuss production quotas on Wednesday will finally bring some clarity.

AS AN investment opportunity, oil hardly boasts the glamour of a telecoms stock or an internet venture, writes Dan Gledhill. Yet anyone forking out $10 for a bargain barrel of Brent Crude at the start of the year would have enjoyed a 150 per cent return in the past 12 months. And all because of a rare outbreak of harmony within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OIL PRICES stormed higher yesterday bolstered by a cold snap in Europe and the United States and more speculation from Opec ministers that output curbs will be retained beyond March.

Sir: I remember the time, before we had found our own oil, when I would join the long queue at "the last petrol station in England" and fill my car to the brim with the stuff before boarding the Dover-Calais ferry. On the journey home, like many others, I ran the risk of running out in order to arrive at Calais with a virtually empty tank so that as little French fuel was used as possible.

THE OPEC countries achieved more than 90 per cent compliance with their self-imposed cutbacks in oil production, Iran's oil minister said yesterday.

OIL PRICES soared above $20 a barrel yesterday for the first time in almost two years, amid optimism that the Opec countries would stick to production cuts agreed earlier this year.

OPEC HAS a long history of being able to resist everything except temptation. Right now the temptation is to cash in on the rising oil price by abandoning production quotas and letting the black stuff gush. With the oil price touching $20 a barrel - a level not witnessed for almost two years - it is a minor miracle that the Opec members have maintained their discipline for so long, particularly with producers like Nigeria and Venezuela just dying to let rip.

United Kingdom stocks may fall this week on reluctance to invest while military action continues in Yugoslavia. However, BP Amoco and other oil companies may stem the decline as crude oil gains.

News Analysis: This time oil price rises may stick, spelling near- term economic danger

MINISTERS FROM the top oil producing countries began arriving in Vienna yesterday for a high-level Opec meeting tomorrow, which is expected to rubber-stamp a deal to slash oil output and end the two-year slump in the oil price.

AFTER A two-decade absence, the spectre of Opec is haunting the world economy once again. Ministers from the oil exporting companies meet in Vienna on Tuesday to ratify production cuts agreed last week. These amount to about 7 per cent of the annual output of signatories, and they come on top of a similar reduction in quotas last year.

IT SAYS something about the unpredictable nature of the oil business that a company can plunge into losses and pass its dividend and yet still see its share price rise by 6 per cent on the day.

CRUDE OIL prices broke through the $12 a barrel barrier yesterday, amid speculation about cuts in world supply.