Call for O.P.E.C. to restrain oil prices

Press, 5 December 1979, Page 33

Call for O.P.E.C. to restrain oil prices

PA Weumgtun A former British Minister of Energy has urged the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to take into account developing nations when it meets next month to discuss new p Ices for oil. Dr Dickson Mabon made the plea when addressing a plenary session of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Wellington. A meeting like this should tell the O.P.E.C. countries that they must be restrained in their vsews over ever-increasing oil prices,” he said. “They must really take into account that the very poor nations of the world are not able to deal with the problems of constant rises in prices,” he said. Dr Mabon said he hoped O.P.E.C. would do more in terms of recycling the large amounts of money they had at their disposal, and take into account small countries’ problems. The tone for the session bn energy was set by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon). He predicted the price of oil would double in 12 months and declared the accelerating price of oil was at the heart of the world’s economic problems. Throughout the speeches, the plight of the underdeveloped and developing nations over increasing oil prices was emnhasised. The leader of the Trinidad and Tobago delegation (Senator Elmo Gonzales) called on the developed countries to assist these

nations with ivans and technical assistance to develop alternative fuels. Many developing nations had energy resources, but could not develop them either through lack of finance or lack of technical knowledge, or both, he said. The Minister of Mineral Resources for Botswana (Dr Gaositwe Chiepe) said one of the biggest problems in her country was lack of water and the necessity of drilling for it. “Lack of just one drum of water may mean someone’s cattle dying,” she said. Botswana had extensive coal deposits and there was the possibility of natural gas and oil’s being there, too. But the cost of developing it was so great that Botswana could not do it on its own. Mr Cyril Cox, of Bermuda’s Progressive Labour Party, said it was no use looking for scapegoats for the energy crisis. “We have got to deal with the reality that there is a finite supply of energy,” he said. Mr Cox, who is head of the Bermuda Electric Utility’s generation department, said there was not

enough energy conservation and governments had to “take the bull by the horns,” and achieve savings. Senator A. J. Messner, cf the Australian Liberal Party, said the Commonwealth could take a positive role in sharing energy information with ies s e r-developed Commonwealth countriesDr Mabon, who is deputy leader of the United Kingdom delegation, said that it was essential to develop all alternative fuels, finite and renewable, to sustain the progress of mankind. This meant investment in resources such as coal, wind, tidal and nuclear energy, which he said would be essential if progress was to continue. Dr Mabon said the free supply of uranium from the countries who have it, such as Australia, to those who have not, such as Britain, Japan and France, was essentia for the wellbeing of the world. "I would say that ths financial tourniquet of oil could be replaced in 20 years time by the argument over uranium, and nuclear energy,” warned Dr Mabon.