Opec 'working hard to bring down prices'
Posted on » Friday, May 04, 2012
PARIS: Opec is working hard to bring down oil prices that jumped towards $130 a barrel earlier this year, its secretary-general said yesterday, and is pumping much more than its official target even as exports from group member Iran dwindle.
Oil surged in March to $128 a barrel, the highest since 2008, on increased concern over the loss of Iranian oil due to tighter sanctions combined with supply hitches elsewhere.
Prices have since fallen back, and Brent crude slipped by more than $1 a barrel to below $117 yesterday.
"We are not happy with prices at this level because there will be destruction as far as demand is concerned," Opec secretary-general Abdullah Al Badri told an energy conference.
"We're working hard to bring down the price. We're not comfortable."
Opec is pumping 32.3 million barrels per day (bpd), he said. That is 2.3m bpd more than Opec's target of 30m bpd.
Al Badri again identified $100 as a comfortable price and said the price was being driven higher by speculators.
"There has been no shortage of oil in the market. Producers have been able to meet consumer needs," he said.
"Today the price continues to be driven by excessive speculation," Al Badri said.
Qatari Oil Minister Mohammed Al Sada, also attending the conference in Paris, warned oil would head ever higher unless trillions of dollars are invested in the energy sector.
Gulf producers will have to stump up $100 billion a year over the next 25 years to meet future demand, out of total investment of $19 trillion, he said.
"If these investments are not achieved by 2016, the price will rise to over $150 in real terms," he predicted.
