RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A gathering of oil producers and consumers this weekend may be more about Saudi Arabia’s worry that it is being blamed for the meteoric rise in oil prices and less about finding a solution to the problem, analysts said.
With few able to agree how to tackle the numerous factors behind oil prices at a once-unthinkable $130 a barrel, the meeting in the Saudi port city of Jiddah may turn to finger-pointing. Consumer nations will urge more output from Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf oil producers, while producers will call on gas-guzzlers and speculators to ease off and do their part.
“I don’t see anything emanating from this meeting that’s going to have an appreciable impact on oil prices come Sunday night or Monday morning,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.
The Saudis’ message will be that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will do what it can to stabilize prices and meet demand — but also that it and other producers are not to blame for high prices.
