US will urge oil producers to maximize their production: Bush

New York (Platts)--28Apr2005

US President George W. Bush Thursday evening said his administration was
"doing everything it can" to lower domestic gasoline prices, including urging
oil producing countries to pump more crude oil. "My administration is doing
everything it can to make gasoline more affordable," Bush said in the opening
remarks of his first prime-time press conference in a year, televised live by
US television networks. "In the near-term, we will continue to encourage oil
producing countries to maximize their production." 

Bush used the news conference to again push what has become one of his top
domestic priorities--the passage of comprehensive energy legislation that, he
says, will reduce the US' reliance on foreign sources of energy. Bush praised
the US House of Representatives for its passage last week of an energy bill,
and urged the Senate to quickly follow suit.

The president said he wanted a final bill on his desk by summer, so he could
sign it into law. "Now, the Senate needs to act on this important priority,"
Bush said. He vowed his administration would watch carefully for any sign of
price gouging among gasoline retailers. "Here at home, we will protect
consumers," Bush said. "There will be no price gouging at gas pumps in
America."

This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert
http://www.globalalert.platts.com

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