WASHINGTON, Jan 21: US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said on Friday he has told Opec ministers that the cartel needs to pump more oil rather than less.

I believe the market needs more, rather than less oil, and I have expressed that opinion to a number of ministers, Bodman told Bloomberg television in an interview.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on Jan. 31 to decide output policy. In December, the group agreed to trim production back to quota levels, paving the way for possible cuts as peak winter demand ebbs.

I’m very hopeful that (Opec) will respond by continuing to supply at a very high percentage of their available capacity, Bodman said. I am reasonably comfortable at this point and time that they will do the right thing by the marketplace.

Opec has been pumping at a 25-year-high pace in response to high oil prices and calls from consumer nations worried about their economies.—Reuters