OPEC says crude supply not to blame for oil price

By Chris Borowski and John Irish

WARSAW/DOHA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members said on Wednesday they are not to blame for near-record oil prices, pointing the finger at a global shortage of refinery capacity and international political tension.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is ready to pump more, but for now sees no need and has rebuffed calls from consumer countries for extra oil to lower prices from $76 a barrel.

Oil has been on an upward march since January when it sank

to about $50. Concerns over shortages of gasoline in top consumer the United States and two rounds of OPEC supply curbs have helped push prices higher.

"OPEC does not find any reason at the moment to increase its production of crude oil," the group's president and United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said.

"The member-countries of the organization are ready to pump additional amounts of crude oil into the market if the need arises."

The International Energy Agency, adviser to 26 industrialized countries, has called repeatedly on OPEC to open the taps to avoid a supply crunch later this year.

But OPEC ministers say that boosting output will not help.

"The price today is not at all connected with the fundamentals of the oil industry," said Ali al-Naimi, oil minister of top exporter Saudi Arabia in his first comments on world markets in months.

"There is a good balance between supply and demand. Inventories are in a comfortable position, therefore fundamentals do not support high prices today."

Naimi said the kingdom's buyers are not asking for more oil.

OPEC members point to high crude inventories as evidence that the market is well supplied. U.S. inventories recently hit a nine-year high.

STRAIN ON REFINING

In Doha, Qatari energy minister Abdullah al-Attiyah earlier sounded the same message as his Saudi counterpart.

"OPEC cannot do anything about it," Attiyah said. "The world is facing a shortage of gasoline and diesel, but not crude oil."