London, 14 June 2011

Oil prices will rise and could harm the economy if an expected supply shortage materializes later this year, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri told Reuters on Tuesday. Consumer countries have urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to pump more to replace supplies shut down in Libya and to prevent fuel inflation hurting economic growth.

Instead, last week's OPEC talks collapsed without a deal, although Badri said the OPEC secretariat had presented all the evidence for a production rise.

Its 33 economists pointed to the need for 2 million barrels per day (bpd) more oil in the third quarter and 1.5 million bpd in the last three months of the year.

"This shortage of 2 million barrels, if it materializes, in the third quarter and the fourth quarter, then the price will go up for sure," Badri told the Reuters Global Energy and Climate Summit.

Ends --

The full text of the story is on Reuters.com at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/14/us-energy-summit-opec-idUSTRE75D2IE20110614