OPEC to prevent oil shortage in case of war-Attiyah

www.alertnet.org 18 Feb 2003 21:31

CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will act quickly to avoid oil market shortages in case of a war against Iraq, OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday.

"In cases of tension...we deal with it clearly and quickly to restore a balance between supply and demand in the market, and to restore stability. We do not want consumers to feel that they will face a shortage in supplies," Attiyah said in an interview with the Qatar-based Arabic-language al-Jazeera channel.

Attiyah, who is also Qatar's energy minister, was responding to a question about how OPEC would react to a possible war in Iraq.

Oil prices forged to fresh 29-month highs on Tuesday as the United States and Britain pushed for a second U.N. resolution on Iraq that could open the way to war on the world's eighth largest oil exporter.

Traders fear military conflict in Iraq could upset oil flows from the Middle East, which pumps nearly a third of the world's crude. An 11-week workers strike in Venezuela has already depleted world oil supplies.