WORLD COULD COPE WITH HORMUZ CLOSURE, SUBROTO SAYS Oil prices would skyrocket for a time if conflict in the Gulf closed the Strait of Hormuz, but oil supplies could be adjusted to take care of world demand, Indonesian Energy Minister Subroto said. He made no explicit reference to the latest U.S. Military action in the Gulf. But in an address to a conference of the Indonesian Petroleum Association, he said, "If worst comes to worst and say the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz is completely shut off, I believe the world oil supply, given time to adjust, can take care of the situation." "But this is not to say that prices, at least for a short duration, will not skyrocket as speculators take advantage of the situation," he declared. Tensions in the Gulf, however, usually had a relatively short-term impact on prices, he added. Assessing future price trends, he said, "Short-term spot prices will probably still fluctuate, but they will most likely hover around the official Opec price basket of 18 dlrs per barrel. "The upward deviations, however, are likely to be greater than the downward ones." "The balance between supply and demand in the short term will still be delicate," he added. "Non-Opec production may still go up, competing with Opec for the expected additional increase in world demand." Subroto, a member of Opec's three-man quota committee which has been touring cartel members, said speculation may play havoc with spot prices, but Opec was trying to stabilize the situation by urging cooperation by non-Opec producers. In the medium term, non-Opec production would reach a plateau in the early 1990s, leaving Opec much stronger, he said.