WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said today that he has asked OPEC ministers to consider the below-normal oil inventories held by Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development nations when they decide this week whether to increase oil production.
"I have asked ministers to take a look it, and they have said they will do so," Bodman told reporters at a Platts Energy Podium in Washington. "As to what decision they make, that is up to them, not to me."
Bodman acknowledged, however, that any decision by OPEC to increase production at its meeting in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday would help alleviate the tight market caused partly by low oil inventories.
OPEC ministers have suggested that the recent decline in oil prices may indicate the world market does not need additional production. But Bodman said he believes oil prices "are still very high," and continued to encourage suppliers to keep markets well supplied.
Separately, the secretary said a U.S. government report released Monday that concluded Iran halted work on a suspected nuclear weapons program four years ago is unlikely to lead to lower oil prices by easing market concerns over potential supply disruptions if the United Nations pursues further sanctions against Iran.
Bodman also said he is not concerned about suggestions by some OPEC ministers that oil prices should be set in euros rather than dollars because of the decline in the dollar's value. "I have a lot of things to worry about, and that's not one of them," he said.
He expressed surprise at the continued resilience of the U.S. economy in the face of high oil prices, and said he believed the reason is the country is more service-oriented, and less dependent on oil, than it was previously.
Still, he called the effect of high oil prices on the U.S. economy "a legitimate concern," adding they "will do some damage as we look at the horizon."
Sponsored by Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Platts Energy Podium provides an ongoing forum for prominent newsmakers and the press to address important energy and environmental issues. Credentialed members of the media may receive complementary registration for Energy Podium events by contacting Nancy Covey at 202-942-8719, Nancy_Covey@platts.com. A recording of the Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman session is available via podcast at www.energypodium.platts.com.
