UK finance minister Gordon
Brown Sep 13 called on OPEC to raise oil output to meet rising
demand when the cartel meets in Vienna next week, saying
international action was needed to stabilize global energy
markets.
High crude prices -- currently around $63- 64/bbl but which surged
above $70/bbl in New York as Hurricane Katrina struck the southern
US in late August -- are increasing risks to economic growth,
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown told the Trades Union
Congress in Brighton, England. "Because this is at root a problem
of demand outstripping supply, OPEC must respond at its meeting on
Sep 19 by raising production," Brown told the TUC, which
represents Britain's labor unions.
Brown's comments come as some truckers in the UK are threatening a
repeat of oil refinery blockades to protest high fuel prices that
almost brought the country to a standstill five years ago. But
OPEC rejected any suggestion that it needed to do more to bring
down record-high oil prices, pointing out that it had already
boosted its crude output to more than 30-mil b/d and was investing
heavily in projects to expand its overall production capacity. "I
don't think OPEC has not done anything," a spokesman at OPEC's
Vienna headquarters said. "We have increased our production and
now we are producing 30-plus-mil b/d."
Brown also called on OPEC to use part of the revenue windfall
resulting from the higher prices to boost investment in the energy
sector. "...from the additional $300-bil a year in revenue OPEC
countries are now enjoying and the additional $800-bil available
to oil producers there must be additional new investment in
production and global investment in refining capacity," he said.
The value of OPEC's oil exports rose by $100-bil to $349-bil in
2004, the highest on record, an OPEC publication showed Sep 12.
"We are taking part of that money and channelling it into our
investment projects," the OPEC spokesman said. "That is why we are
expecting OPEC to have at least 5-mil b/d of spare capacity by
2010. So we are not just enjoying the money. We are taking our
responsibilities very seriously." "It's important for all parties
to sit down and have a constructive dialogue and look at the
deep-seated problems facing the oil industry," he added.
Copyright © 2005 - Platts
Please visit:
www.platts.com
Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.
|