WASHINGTON, Sept 10: The White House disagreed on Wednesday with Opec’s plans to cut oil output by half a million barrels a day, saying “we would like to see more oil on the market, not less.”

But spokeswoman Dana Perino played down the likelihood that US President George W. Bush would reach out personally to major oil producers like long-time US ally Saudi Arabia in an effort to change the cartel’s mind.

“I don’t know of any (telephone) calls. I think they know his position very well, and I don’t know if all the Opec leaders were in agreement during their meeting last night any way,” Perino told reporters.

The Opec agreed at a meeting in Vienna to cut output by 520,000 barrels per day to counter a drop in oil prices, which tumbled Tuesday below the 100-dollar mark for the first time since April.

Perino said the move highlighted Bush’s call on the US Congress to do more to promote domestic oil production, notably by lifting a ban on drilling in the Outer US Continental Shelf.—AFP