The OPEC oil ministers said the oil market was well-supplied and recent gains were due to speculation and beyond the group’s control. OPEC is scheduled to discuss oil production for the first quarter of 2008 at a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5.

The Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal rejected calls by Iran and Venezuela at the summit to discuss abandoning the U.S. currency for oil sales, saying the kingdom doesn’t want the dollar to “collapse”, however also it showed his potential to generate problems to the United States and their allies.

During OPEC MEETING the oil leaders thought were private talks, Venezuela’s oil Minister Rafael Ramirez and his Iranian counterpart Gholamhossein Nozari, argued that pricing - and selling - oil using the crippled dollar was damaging the cartel, but the Saudis, the world’s largest oil producers and de facto head of OPEC, vetoed the proposal. The Prince Saud Al-Faisal, warned that even the mere mention to journalists of the fact that leaders were discussing the weak dollar would cause the US currency to plummet ( ¿$US dollar vs €Euro?). The alliance between Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been fortified with several visits of both parts: Chávez Monday arrived at Tehran by fourth time in two years. Iran has been associated with Venezuela in several industrial projects in the South American nation, including the manufacture of automobiles, energy, plastic tractors and products, but could be an interesting bridge/way to traffic with nuclear technology in another hand Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad want to use the Cartel, like a political weapon versus George Bush´s policy.

Read the Riyadh Declaration. The Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of OPEC

|Manuel Torres Laveaga

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The European Commission is looking to improve the European Union´s Energy Security and ensures fair competition and prices. However the energy world sector is asking ¿ advance or threaten the energy security in Europe? We could wait the new energy reforms bring big implications for Europe’s energy security and its foreign policy.

Currently there are some energy battles between Europeans and Russia, for example to get the control from the energy traffic in the euroasia´s borders, the investments in Sakhalin projects, and Nabucco pipeline that across from Turkey to make available Iran´s natural gas. Europeans needs Iranian natural gas for the Nabucco pipeline (together Iran, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which hold the world’s largest reserves, would feed gas into the pipeline), the European Union’s most ambitious infrastructure project.

For non communitarian firms doesn’t like the new strategy set forth by the European Comisión, this energy reforms are Hypocritical Energy Stance, preferably a fair play condition with Same rules. Called reciprocity between communitarians and non communitarians. Why because ie better for the europeans have a healthy relations with its suppliers. Mutual respect!

|Manuel Torres Laveaga