EU welcomes OPEC decision to pump more oil

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs on Tuesday welcomed an OPEC decision to release an additional 2 million barrels of crude oil per day to the market.

"This move will reassure consumer countries of the security of their energy supply," said Piebalgs in a brief statement.

OPEC oil ministers agreed in Vienna earlier on Tuesday to pump an additional 2 million barrels a day, nearly all of its spare capacity, for a three-month period beginning Oct. 1.

However, the 11-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to leave its official output limit unchanged at 28 million barrels a day because it believed that there is no demand from refiners for extra cartel crude.

"We don't prefer to increase the ceiling at the moment," said Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah. "There's now oil available for three months and if the world needs oil, it's available."

Most OPEC ministers believe the world oil market is well supplied with crude and the problem lies with refining products.

Oil prices fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday after OPEC made the offer.

Source: Xinhua