Opec needs to know how much biofuel will be produced in the future but has no objections to alternative energy sources, its Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said on Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting between officials of the crude oil producer group and of the European Union, Badri said Opec had no problem with biofuel as such but was worried about countries not sustaining their production.
"I am afraid that this sustainability will maybe not be kept into the future and also the producing countries will not revisit their investments," Badri said at meeting.
"We told them we should talk to each other and see how much quantity you are going to produce from biofuel." Opec has often voiced concern that, without the necessary prospects that demand for its oil will sustain the price in future, its members will not invest enough in their own output.
One fear is that, should the world come to rely on substantial amounts of biofuels and these then decline, Opec producers might not be in a position to take up the slack swiftly.
Opec officials have said biofuels could replace a significant portion of projected future output. The EU and other nations around the globe are looking increasingly at biofuels, made from plant and animal matter, to boost energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and open new markets for farmers.
Michael Glos, economy minister of Germany which holds the EU presidency and represented the 27-nation bloc at the meeting, said he got the feeling Opec members felt targeted by energy conservation measure and support for biofuels.
"This is not the case," Glos said during a news conference, adding the world-wide measures to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels was aimed at tackling concerns about global warming and not targeting oil producing nations.
"Our objective as European Union is to play a bit of pioneering role here," Glos said. "Even despite our measures and objectives, energy consumption will increase and we also know on the other hand that all fossil fuels are finite and therefore we want to try and ensure that the reserves last longer."
Opec and the European Union agreed during their talks to hold a workshop on the oil refining sector, including the implications of biofuels, in Brussels at the end of 2007 or early in 2008.
The EU has set a binding target for biofuels to make up 10 percent of vehicle fuels by 2020 and is working on diversifying energy supplies. European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said the EU would continue to provide incentives for biofuels production. "But whatever steps we take, it will not create disruptions to the oil markets," Piebalgs said during a news conference.