Oil prices 'will not come down,' Opec president Chakib Khelil said
Tuesday, assuring that the oil cartel has already done what it can on
the matter.
"Opec has already done what Opec can do and prices
will not come down," Khelil told journalists as he arrived for a
meeting with EU energy officials in Brussels.
Ahead of a summit
between producers and consumers in Jeddah last weekend, Opec
heavyweight Saudi Arabia promised on Thursday to lift its oil
production by 200,000 barrels per day.
However, Saudi Arabia's
increased output, to counter the fears of inflation-hit consumers,
exposed divisions within Opec at the summit with Khelil opposed to a
production hike.
In the face of calls from consumer countries
for an oil output hike, Opec secretary general Abdullah al-Badri
insisted that supply was currently sufficient.
"There is no
shortage, the market is full of oil," he assured, blaming "other
factors" for the high price of crude, including refinery problems and
hedge funds piling into the market.
EU Energy Commissioner
Andris Piebalgs urged Opec to do away with the grouping's production
ceiling in order to provide relief to the market.
"In my
opinion, there is no reason to keep ceilings on production," he told
journalists. "If there are no ceilings, markets will adapt much
faster," he added. "In this respect we could expect prices to go down,
not going up as the tendency has been till now."
Tuesday, assuring that the oil cartel has already done what it can on
the matter.
"Opec has already done what Opec can do and prices
will not come down," Khelil told journalists as he arrived for a
meeting with EU energy officials in Brussels.
Ahead of a summit
between producers and consumers in Jeddah last weekend, Opec
heavyweight Saudi Arabia promised on Thursday to lift its oil
production by 200,000 barrels per day.
However, Saudi Arabia's
increased output, to counter the fears of inflation-hit consumers,
exposed divisions within Opec at the summit with Khelil opposed to a
production hike.
In the face of calls from consumer countries
for an oil output hike, Opec secretary general Abdullah al-Badri
insisted that supply was currently sufficient.
"There is no
shortage, the market is full of oil," he assured, blaming "other
factors" for the high price of crude, including refinery problems and
hedge funds piling into the market.
EU Energy Commissioner
Andris Piebalgs urged Opec to do away with the grouping's production
ceiling in order to provide relief to the market.
"In my
opinion, there is no reason to keep ceilings on production," he told
journalists. "If there are no ceilings, markets will adapt much
faster," he added. "In this respect we could expect prices to go down,
not going up as the tendency has been till now."
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