EU Officials Meet OPEC as Calls for Oil Output Increases

European Union officials will meet with OPEC officials in Vienna to urge producer groups to increase production and the as the EU is considering potential sanctions on Russian oil.

OPEC resists calls from the US and the International Energy Agency to increase crude oil to lower prices, which hit a 14-year high last month after Washington and Brussels imposed sanctions on Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.

OPEC +, which consists of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers including Russia, plans to increase production by about 432,000 barrels per day in May. 

Russian oil has been excluded from EU sanctions so far. The European Commission is drafting a proposal for an oil embargo on Russia. Australia, Canada and the USA have already banned Russian oil purchases. 

EU countries are divided on whether to follow or not, given the high dependence and the potential for a move to soar Europe's already high energy prices.

The EU predicts that oil consumption will decline by 30% from 2015 levels to 2030 as part of a planned action to tackle climate change, but embargoes will replace the Russian oil supply Which encourages a short-term rush to replace it.