OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said Thursday his group was committed to selling its crude oil for an unspecified "reasonable price," while coolly receiving EU plans for boosting biofuels. Speaking during an energy meeting with European Union leaders, Badri declined to detail the price level sought by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, saying: "I do not want to go through figures, but everybody knows what a reasonable price is."
On Wednesday, Badri had hinted that OPEC might not increase crude oil output in the coming months, even though oil prices remained around 70 dollars a barrel, saing that market fundamentals were balanced at present.
He also declined to say if OPEC would intevene if prices shot back up to the 80-dollar-a-barrel level seen last year.
"We don't want to see a high price and we don't want to see a low price," Badri commented.
European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said Thursday the EU felt it was "important there is a fair price," but added: "Our worst enemy is volatility" which hampered efforts to sustain long-term energy policies.
German Economy Minister Michael Glos, who represented the rotating EU presidency at the meeting, told reporters the union wanted "set an example in terms of fighting climate change" by reducing the use of fossile fuels and increasing that of biofuels by 2030.
"This is to help the environment and is not aimed at oil producing countries," Glos stressed.
Badri replied that while OPEC members also sought to fight global warming, "you must understand that OPEC is producing a commodity that is the only source of income back home."
Source: Agence France-Presse
