OPEC doesn’t shoulder Trump’s oil price blame – Reuters

As reported by Reuters, OPEC has responded to US President Trump’s accusation that OPEC needs to “do something” about oil prices, with OPEC’s president stating that the oil production group does not take responsibility for actions that have sent oil prices rising.

Key quotes

“Trump has accused the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in recent weeks of driving gasoline prices higher and urged the group to do more.

“OPEC alone cannot be blamed for all the problems that are happening in the oil industry, but at the same time we were responsive in terms of the measures we took in our latest meeting in June,” Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries president Suhail al-Mazrouei told Reuters in an interview in Calgary, Alberta.  “I feel OPEC is doing its part.”  Mazrouei said OPEC is willing to listen to major oil-producing countries, including the United States.

OPEC agreed in June on a modest increase in oil production starting in July after its leader Saudi Arabia persuaded arch-rival Iran to cooperate, following calls from major consumers to curb rising fuel costs.

Mazrouei, who also serves as energy minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said OPEC member crude producers have enough capacity to handle any unforeseen global supply disruptions. OPEC is seeking a balance between supply and demand, not targeting a crude price, he said.  Mazrouei said he did not anticipate needing to call any extraordinary meeting of OPEC member countries before a scheduled meeting in December.