ASEAN to seek higher OPEC output

ASEAN to seek higher OPEC output

MANILA (AP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will ask Indonesia to lobby members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase crude oil production levels, Philippine Energy Secretary Mario Tioaqui said Friday.

Indonesia is a member of both ASEAN and OPEC.

ASEAN's energy ministers are meeting in Hanoi, primarily to discuss developing clean energy sources in connection with the creation of an ASEAN power grid.

Tiaoqui said that during Sunday's session the energy ministers will ask Indonesia to persuade OPEC to raise production further.

"We will ask Indonesia, which is an OPEC member, to help us lobby for higher levels of production," Tiaoqui said.

At its meeting in Vienna last week, OPEC decided to increase its total crude output by 708,000 barrels a day from Saturday in response to crude prices breaching the upper limit of the US$22 to $28 per barrel price band set in March. OPEC next meets Sept. 10.

Economists have warned that the fragile economic recovery in Asia - particularly for heavy importers of crude oil such as Thailand and the Philippines - could be derailed if world prices for the commodity remain high.

In the Philippines, major oil companies said Friday they will raise oil product prices by 55 centavos (1.3 cents) a liter effective Saturday, and plan to increase prices further in the next few weeks because of the higher cost of importing crude oil.

Higher fuel prices in the Philippines usually trigger an upward price spiral for other goods and services, particularly transportation costs. This, in turn, results in demands for higher wages from labor groups.

ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.