RIYADH (Thomson Financial) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Saturday that oil prices -- currently camped out just below the 100 usd a barrel mark -- could hit 200 usd if the United States attacked Iran or Venezuela.
His comments came in an opening speech at the Third OPEC Summit.
"If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach 150 usd or even 200 usd," Chavez said, describing 100 usd as a "just" and "fair" price.
He also suggested the 12-member oil cartel should "ask the most powerful nation in the world to stop threatening OPEC", referring to the United States.
"The basis of all aggression is oil. It is the underlying reason," he said, referring to the war in Iraq and US threats against Iran.
"(The OPEC states) need stability, we need to know the world powers do not expect us to guarantee regular supply and stability of prices without anything in return."
"Today OPEC stands strong. It is stronger than it has ever been in the past," he said. "OPEC should set itself up as an active geopolitical agent."
Speaking shortly after Chavez, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said oil should not be allowed to become a tool of war. "Oil is an energy for construction and must not become an instrument for conflict," King Abdullah said, noting that OPEC had always been a fair organisation.
"If we were to factor in fluctuation and inflation it would not have reached its actual price of the 1980s," King Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, Chavez said: "OPEC must change and become a much stronger player in the geopolitical and geo-economic domains.
"In the years ahead OPEC should set itself up as an active political agent."
Chavez also said Venezuela is proposing the setting up of an OPEC bank, so the cartel can have a bigger say in the financial markets and help redistribute wealth to the underprivileged.
His comments came in an opening speech at the Third OPEC Summit.
"If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach 150 usd or even 200 usd," Chavez said, describing 100 usd as a "just" and "fair" price.
He also suggested the 12-member oil cartel should "ask the most powerful nation in the world to stop threatening OPEC", referring to the United States.
"The basis of all aggression is oil. It is the underlying reason," he said, referring to the war in Iraq and US threats against Iran.
"(The OPEC states) need stability, we need to know the world powers do not expect us to guarantee regular supply and stability of prices without anything in return."
"Today OPEC stands strong. It is stronger than it has ever been in the past," he said. "OPEC should set itself up as an active geopolitical agent."
Speaking shortly after Chavez, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said oil should not be allowed to become a tool of war. "Oil is an energy for construction and must not become an instrument for conflict," King Abdullah said, noting that OPEC had always been a fair organisation.
"If we were to factor in fluctuation and inflation it would not have reached its actual price of the 1980s," King Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, Chavez said: "OPEC must change and become a much stronger player in the geopolitical and geo-economic domains.
"In the years ahead OPEC should set itself up as an active political agent."
Chavez also said Venezuela is proposing the setting up of an OPEC bank, so the cartel can have a bigger say in the financial markets and help redistribute wealth to the underprivileged.
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