By DPA,
Madrid : Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah Monday emphatically denied claims by some oil importing countries that supply shortages were making oil prices soar.
“There is no shortage,” al-Attiyah told DPA during the 19th World Petroleum Congress in the Spanish capital Madrid.
“There are a lot of cargoes full of crude oil” with no buyers, he said.
The minister said the causes of the high oil prices were not clear, adding that market speculation probably played a role.
The oil market was marked by “strange fluctuations”, al-Attiyah said, refusing to speculate on how high oil prices might rise.