China and OPEC start energy dialogue
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-23 07:49

Asked about his view on the competition, Sheikh Ahmad said the purpose of the dialogue with China was not to increase OPEC's market share in China, but to secure supply and to provide an environment for stable oil prices.

"We're not looking for a bigger market but we're looking for cooperation (between) OPEC and consumers to secure the supply," he told reporters.

"We're happy that China has good relations with Russia and Kazakhstan ... to be their main suppliers for their demand."

"We believe, as OPEC, we'll do our best to make reasonable prices, but the main goal for us is to secure the supply for the demand, now and in the future.

"We believe OPEC, non-OPEC, even the consumers and the international oil companies should work together to secure the supply and jointly to invest in the downstream to raise the capacity ... which is very important for (making) the prices more stable."

Before he left for Beijing, he had said the group's first talks with China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, would focus on China's future demand.

"We want to know ... China's future requirements for energy and its investments in refineries and refining capacity," Sheikh Ahmad had said.

Sheikh Ahmad also said earlier he would complete negotiations in China that began in Kuwait two weeks ago for the construction of a five-billion-dollar refining and petrochemicals complex in southern Guangdong province.

On December 5, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for the project that includes building a refinery with a capacity of between 200,000 and 400,000 barrels per day.