KUWAIT CITY, April 4 (UPI) -- Europe's top energy official urged Gulf oil ministers to step up production of oil to guarantee the continent's future energy supply.
European Union Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs held talks with Sheikh Ahmad Fadh al-Sabah, Kuwait's oil minister and current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, during the weekend's two-day summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The GCC is a group of six states that account for one-fifth of the world oil supply.
The Opec president told reporters the oil cartel would restart talks to raise the production ceiling by 500,000 barrels a day. While Peibalgs announced the EU and Opec would hold a ministerial summit in Brussels in June to discuss the region's energy security.
Three-quarters of the EU's oil and half of its gas demand is currently met by imports. By 2030, the EU's dependence on imports is expected to rise to 90 percent for oil and 70 percent for gas.
"We see the Gulf Council Cooperation region (as) one of the biggest long-term suppliers of hydrocarbons for the European Union," said Peibalgs.
