Oil summit opens in London: Speeches

Oil summit opens in London: Speeches; Miliband introduces OPEC Secretary General His Excellency Abdalla Salem El-Badri His Excellency Abdalla Salem El-Badri (OPEC secretary General) speech SOT - Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Let me begin by thanking the Right Honourable Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for the opportunity to contribute, once more, to the debate on the impact which financial markets have had, and are continuing to have, on global energy markets. Today, the financial crisis, triggered by the sub-prime mortgage difficulties in the US, is taking its toll. The world economy is dramatically slowing and, in some regions, even entering into deep recession. This situation has real and far-reaching implications for the future outlook of the oil industry. It has a compounded, adverse impact on commodity-exporting countries, in particular those whose economies are highly dependent on petroleum export revenues. These recent developments amplify the concerns expressed in Jeddah regarding the impact of unguided financial markets on the price of oil and its volatility. Now, there is a sense of urgency to the Jeddah Statement’s call for improved transparency and regulation of financial markets. We welcome the focus of this Meeting on what is clearly a very important matter. The extremely high volatility of the oil price during recent months has been well documented. In the summer, prices were driven to record highs by unlimited speculation, as the dollar weakened and investors sought cover in commodity markets. More recently, as the financial crisis deepens and the state of the real economy worsens, the price of crude oil has tumbled. However, lower crude prices do not translate into equally lower prices at the pump. The price that the end-consumer pays comprises significant amounts of taxation. This is especially the case in Europe and Japan.