President Bush expressed disappointment Wednesday at OPEC’s oil output cut and pressed allies inside and outside the cartel to fill any gap in supply to prevent higher prices after Democratic rival John Kerry accused Bush of ignoring record pump prices.
While initially raising no public objections to OPEC’s decision, the White House later voiced its displeasure and said Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and others were reaching out to “our friends” in OPEC and non-OPEC nations to address U.S. concerns.
The goal is to fill any gap in crude oil supply to prevent prices from rising any further, officials said.
Signaling its support, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah, after talks with Rice, said oil prices were already “a little bit higher than (they) should be” and that his government “certainly” did not want to see them rise any further.
Kerry has seized on record gas prices as a new thrust in his campaign, accusing Bush — a former Texas oilman — of “inaction” and of breaking a 2000 pledge to step up pressure on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep prices low.
“The president is disappointed in today’s decision,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. “Producers should not take steps that harm American consumers and our economy.”
As part of efforts to keep major oil producers from cutting output under pressure from OPEC, Rice spoke Wednesday with leaders from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The two OPEC members had recommended that the cartel consider delaying tighter restrictions to allow oil prices to cool.
“I affirmed our position that higher oil prices at this stage, especially at this level, is not something that my government would like to see,” the Kuwaiti foreign minister told reporters at the White House.
Eying Kuwait?
The outreach raised speculation that the United States was now targeting Kuwait and the UAE, instead of Saudi Arabia, for diplomatic efforts aimed at securing lower prices.
Delegates said cartel powerhouse Saudi Arabia led the push for the cuts. But Bush administration officials insisted relations with Saudi Arabia remained “good” and that the two countries discussed the issue in recent days.
Talks with non-OPEC nations are focused on increasing production to make up for any cartel cuts, officials said. These nations include Mexico, Norway and Canada.
While his senior advisers worked the telephones, Bush did not personally press OPEC member states to lift export restrictions to help control U.S. pump prices, officials said.
Bush's concerns
McClellan said Bush was concerned about the prices paid by U.S. consumers, but he initially declined to criticize OPEC’s decision to cut crude oil production by 1 million barrels per day in April, a move that will tighten global supplies even more and may drive prices higher.
McClellan expressed disappointment with OPEC at a televised news briefing just hours after other White House officials insisted the administration, as a policy, does not comment publicly on specific OPEC decisions.
A senior Energy Department official said the administration was looking at possible short-term measures to help address the gas price crunch, though he offered no specifics. Retail gasoline prices have soared to a record $1.76 per gallon.
McClellan said the administration was working with state and local officials “to look at possible regional spikes in gas prices and consider other ways that we can address these issues.”
Kerry blamed Bush for “old thinking” on solutions to energy problems, saying he “sent a message to OPEC that his administration will continue to be complacent about our dependency on foreign oil.”
In the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush said it was the president’s job to “jawbone” OPEC producers by getting “on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots.”
McClellan put the blame on Democrats in Congress for failing to pass the Republican president’s energy plan and said oil prices should be set by market forces.
