OPEC's Badri urges consumer action on oil price

OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri gestures during an interview with Reuters in Vienna July 10, 2008.

VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC's Secretary General on Thursday urged big consuming countries to play their part in lowering record oil prices the exporter group believes are driven by factors beyond the supply of oil.

Oil has risen to a record near $146 a barrel, partly because of tension over Iran's nuclear programme. OPEC has blamed factors such as a weak U.S. dollar and a strain on oil refineries for rising prices.

"We don't see any justification for these high oil prices," OPEC's Abdullah al-Badri told Reuters Television at the group's Vienna headquarters.

"The G8, instead of trying to put the burden on producing countries, they should take the burden themselves."

"They should fix the dollar, they should solve these refinery bottlenecks. They keep harassing OPEC member-countries -- Iran is now under pressure of attack and this is now inflating the price too much."

Saudi Arabia called an emergency meeting of producers and consumers in Jeddah last month to try to address high oil prices. Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialised nations said at talks in Japan this week they wanted the two sides to take the dialogue further.

Badri was speaking to Reuters after OPEC earlier on Thursday warned of growing uncertainty over demand for its oil in the years ahead, raising doubts whether investment in new supply would be needed.

OPEC, in its 2008 World Oil Outlook, said demand for its oil could fall to 31 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2012, below current production, as additions to supply excluding OPEC crude outpace growth in demand.

At a press conference earlier on Thursday, Badri said OPEC was pumping more than enough for world markets now, but would review the supply-demand balance at its next meeting on Sept. 9.

Investors fear any attack on Iran could lead to supplies being disrupted, and Badri said other OPEC members would not be able to step in if that were to happen.

"I hope there will be no attack on Iran," he said. "If something happens, it is impossible to replace the production of Iran."

Iran, OPEC's second biggest producer, is pumping close to 4 million barrels per day.