Bush and OPEC

March 6 208 — Chakib Khelil, OPEC’s president this year, said at a meeting in Vienna that the high price of oil was not due to a lack of supplies. Instead, he cited the “mismanagement of the U.S. economy.”
President Fails to Budge OPEC on Production
Record prices are suddenly creating the sharpest tensions in years between the oil cartel and the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer. Two days after the president called for more oil on the global market, OPEC members, meeting in Vienna, chose to leave their production levels unchanged, declaring that the market has plenty of oil already.
Oil Ends Turbulent Day Higher on Dollar
Helping push oil prices higher Thursday was an overnight rebel attack on a Colombian oil pipeline that transports 60,000 barrels of oil a day for export markets. The attack came as traders worried about escalating tensions between Colombia and Venezuela over Colombia’s raid into Ecuador. Venezuela moved tanks and soldiers to the Colombian border. Ecuador said Monday it had sent 3,200 soldiers to its border with Colombia.