EU must play its part to check oil price: Opec

Opec's president said on Friday he wanted the oil group to keep pumping full throttle until March to moderate prices and told EU officials consumer states must play their part by building refineries and cutting oil taxes.
Opec and European Union representatives met in Vienna to discuss ways of keeping oil prices in check. The world's big consumers have become increasingly worried about oil supplies and prices that hit a record $70.85 in August.
Opec President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah of Kuwait said a shortage of refineries to churn out gasoline and other fuels was to blame for the price spike. He also pinned some responsibility on the financial markets that trade oil.
"Both of (these) were seen to influence the volatility that has gripped the market recently," Sheikh Ahmad said.
A joint statement at the meeting's close said producer and consumer nations, and the world economy at large, needed stable and reasonable oil prices.
"The participants recognised that extreme prices, in either direction, over a sustained period are potentially damaging and, therefore, not desirable," it said.
The solution lay in mobilising investment in oilfields and refineries, the statement went on, and ensuring adequate spare capacity and stocks. It also recognised producer nations needed clarity about the level of future oil demand.
Representatives for Opec included Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Edmund Daukoru, who will be Opec president next year, as well as Sheikh Ahmad.
"The two sides do agree that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that there is a sufficient supply cushion, not only to stabilise the market but also to respond to future emergencies such as we have seen in the case of Katrina," Daukoru said.
"Taxation policy is at the core of national sovereignty and the EU clearly has decided to make a strong energy taxation," said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
"The reasons for (that) is, first, efficient use of energy resources, second, to fight climate change, because then you consume less, and, third, with higher taxation level, each spike has made less impact on the economy."
The meeting preceded the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ministerial meeting on December 12 in Kuwait to forge output strategy for early 2006.
Opec has been producing around 30 million barrels per day (bpd) for most of the year and few expect the group to cut. "We have support for keeping output steady," Sheikh Ahmad told reporters, adding that current rates of 30.3 million bpd could be maintained until March.