Opec will meet global oil demands: president
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries on Thursday tried to soften global concerns about decreasing oil supplies, saying Opec was committed to providing enough for world consumption.
"Opec is committed to ensure steady, secure supplies of crude oil to all consumers at affordable prices both now and in the future," Opec president Mohammed al-Hamili told a conference in Bangkok."We are determined to develop sufficient production capacities in tandem with growth in demand to meet world oil needs," said al-Hamili, who is also Minister of Energy in the United Arab Emirates. The 12-member oil cartel pumps more than a third of the world's oil production and about four-fifths of proven crude oil reserves. Addressing concerns of decreasing global oil inventories, al-Hamili said the existing supply was sufficient, but declined to comment on the possibility that Opec might decide to increase output at its next meeting. "We supply to the market. When there is a decrease in inventory, they come to us and we give them supply," he told reporters. "We are ready to pump more whenever there is a requirement," he added. In its monthly report published March 15, Opec said that world oil demand would grow by 1.5 per cent in 2007 from the level last year, matching its forecast in January and February. Al-Hamili said Thursday that Opec's supply to the world market was expected to rise by nearly 60 per cent by 2030. The Opec president was in the Thai capital for the opening of a three-day meeting focusing on Asian energy needs. Agence France-Presse
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