Qatar's Attiyah says told Bodman OPEC doing all it can on output

Qatar's Attiyah says told Bodman OPEC doing all it can on output

Washington (Platts)--12May2005


Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah Thursday said he told US Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman during a face-to-face meeting here that OPEC was doing
everything it could to put ample supplies of crude on world markets and keep
oil prices in check. "We do everything we can do," Attiyah said of OPEC's
production. 

The Qatari also said there was "no justification" for recent fluctuations in
oil prices, noting the moves are an indication there are many speculators
still in the market. Attiyah said he told Bodman during their meeting that the
US needs to address domestic refining bottlenecks and permitting issues for
liquefied natural gas. 

Qatar is a major exporter of LNG, with supplies from the tiny Gulf state
expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Attiyah also said it was
too early to speculate what OPEC would do at its June 15 meeting in Vienna.

This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert
http://www.globalalert.platts.com

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