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OPEC Agrees to Boost Oil Production Quotas

Aired June 21, 2000 - 6:01 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with runaway oil prices. Under pressure from the United States and other leading oil importers, OPEC ministers met in Vienna Wednesday. The importers want more oil, which they hope will lead to lower prices.

CNN's Tom Mintier covered the meeting in Vienna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MINTIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The OPEC oil ministers meeting in Vienna have made it official. They are willing to increase oil production, and a call at the same time for Western governments in the European area and in the United States to reduce taxes on gasoline, saying that in Western Europe, 70 percent of the price of the cost of one gallon of gasoline is consumed by government taxes.

The oil ministers here -- originally it was thought they would put a ceiling of 500,000 on their offer, which was only about two percent. They came out with something a bit more generous, around 708,000 barrels. Now, will this mean lower prices at the gas pump? Probably not. By the time this new oil reaches the market, after it's made its way though the channel and into the refineries, the fall and winter heating season will be quick upon us. And that would mean that the higher prices that are already in existence will probably stay there, and lower prices won't come for some time in the future.

So the oil ministers are saying to Western governments: Reduce taxes. We have done our part. We have increased the production and the output. And now it's up to the Western governments to reduce taxes on oil. Many of the OPEC oil ministers felt that they were being made scapegoats for the high prices, calling on others to share some of the blame and try to bring the prices down.

I'm Tom Mintier, CNN, reporting from the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The oil industry agrees with the oil producers that the tax on gasoline is the biggest factor in the high cost to consumers. And they say the OPEC decision will have little immediate impact on gasoline prices. But U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson called the decision a positive step. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, ENERGY SECRETARY: This means that there's approximately a two to three week period where the oil comes in. So, hopefully, this will have a good psychological effect on the market soon. And with additional oil on the world market, it's good news for consumer and producer countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the United States is $1.68, while in Paris, motorists pay more than $4.00 a gallon, and in London, it can cost as much as $100 to fill up the tank.

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