OPEC to spare world economy says U.S. Energy Chief

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said late on Friday that OPEC ministers should take into account the harm high oil prices can do to the global economy when they meet in Vienna this Sunday to discuss whether to carry out another oil production cut. "We will continue to send a strong and clear message to OPEC nations about the importance of protecting the world economy from significant price increases that aren't good for any nation," Chu said in a statement released by the Energy Department.

To help prop up crude prices, OPEC ministers will consider whether to make additional output cuts on top of the 4.2 million barrels a day in production they previously agreed to slash. Chu said because the United States consumes almost 20 percent of the world's oil, the most effective way to reduce prices is for it to become more efficient and consume less oil. "The ultimate answer is to depend less on oil and more on clean and renewable energy. We have a shared responsibility with other nations -- and a shared opportunity -- to create a generation of new green jobs, reduce energy bills for families, and address the global climate crisis," he said.

Chu said he has also conveyed to world energy ministers the Obama administration's belief that the most effective way to make the world economy less vulnerable to price spikes in oil markets is to diversify energy sources.

Source - www.in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090314/746/tbs-u-s-energy-chief-urges-opec-to-spare.html