Opec, the oil producers’ cartel, is on course to reap $1,000bn in export revenues this year for the first time if crude prices remain above $100 a barrel, according to the International Energy Agency.

The cartel has been one of the main beneficiaries of the high oil prices, which have soared in recent weeks amid the civil uprisings in the Middle East and north Africa. On Tuesday, Brent crude was trading at $115 a barrel as foreign ministers met in London to explore options for Libya’s future if Muammer Gaddafi leaves power.

Fatih Birol, chief economist at the IEA, said a new assessment by the rich nations’ oil watchdog showed that the total number of barrels exported by Opec in 2011 would be slightly lower than in 2008, when oil revenues for the cartel reached $990bn.