LUKMAN SEES STABLE OIL PRICE FOR NEXT COUPLE YEARS The current crude oil price of between 18 and 20 dlrs a barrel will remain stable over the next couple of years, rising only one to two dlrs a barrel per annum to keep up with inflation, OPEC President Rilwanu Lukman said. Lukman, who was speaking during talks with Swedish trade officials, said the stable price depended upon output restraint by both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, Swedish government officials said. They said Lukman, who is also Nigerian oil minister, made the remarks whilst talking about the connection between Third World debt and industrialised nations. Crude oil output controls did not necessarily mean higher energy bills for the world's industrial nations, Lukman said. Although very low oil prices, such as those seen around the beginning of the year, may appear beneficial for the industrial countries that depend on imported energy, they would only lead to wastage and overdependence on the fuel in the long term, he said. This in turn would bring a swing back to extremely high prices, he added. Sweden, heavily dependent on imported oil, suffered a major crisis in the mid-1970s, when oil prices spiralled.