A European Commission official said that the European Union reiterated its call on Monday - during a meeting with OPEC - that oil-producing countries consider whether they can increase supplies to calm sharp increases in crude prices.
The official added to Reuters that representatives of the European Union at the meeting - which was held in Vienna with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries - also made it clear that OPEC has a responsibility to ensure balanced oil markets.
OPEC told the European Union that current and future sanctions on Russia could create one of the worst oil supply shocks ever, and that it would be impossible to replace potentially lost quantities in Russian oil supplies.
OPEC Secretary-General Muhammad Barkindo made these comments during today's meeting with European Union officials, and said that the current fluctuations in the market are caused by non-essential factors completely outside the control of OPEC, expecting the loss of more than 7 million barrels of oil per day from Russia's exports of oil and fuel, due to Current and future sanctions or voluntary moves.
OPEC is resisting calls from the United States and the International Energy Agency to pump more crude to cool prices, which hit a 14-year peak last month, after Washington and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow in the wake of its war on Ukraine.
And "OPEC Plus" - which consists of OPEC and other producers, including Russia - will raise production by about 432,000 barrels per day in next May.
a dialogue
The meeting of the European Union and OPEC on Monday afternoon is the latest step in a dialogue that began between the two sides in 2005.
So far, European Union sanctions have not included Russian oil, but after the 27-nation bloc agreed a few days ago to impose sanctions on the Russian coal sector, in the first measure targeting energy supplies;
Some senior EU officials said oil could be next.
The foreign ministers of Ireland, Lithuania and the Netherlands said the European Commission was preparing proposals for an embargo on Russian oil, upon their arrival in Luxembourg for a meeting with their counterparts in the European Union.
Australia, Canada and the United States, which are less dependent than Europe on Russian supplies, have already banned purchases of Russian oil.
European Union countries are divided over whether to follow suit, given their heavier dependence on Russian oil, and the possibility that such a decision would raise energy prices, which have already increased in Europe.
The European Union expects its oil use to fall 30% by 2030, compared to 2015 levels, in accordance with its policy goals to combat climate change, but the embargo would in the short term lead to a rush to replace Russian oil with alternative supplies.