Chavez: oil to soar if U.S. attacks Iran

By Alex Lawler and Andrew Hammond

RIYADH (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told an OPEC summit on Saturday crude oil prices could double to $200 if the United States attacked his ally Iran.

"If the United States is crazy enough to attack Iran or commit aggression against Venezuela ... oil would not be $100 but $200," Chavez told the summit in the Saudi capital.

Chavez addressed a hall containing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a comrade-in-arms against Western influence.

Fears the United States or its ally Israel could attack Iran over its nuclear energy programme -- which Washington says is a cover for developing atomic weapons -- have helped drive world oil prices to record levels. Tehran denies the charge.

Oil has lapped against the $100-mark this month, prompting consumer nations to call on the exporter group to provide the market with more crude.

OPEC oil ministers said earlier this week in Riyadh that the summit, which ends on Sunday, will leave any decision on whether to raise OPEC output to a meeting in Abu Dhabi on December 5.

A draft final communique says only that OPEC seeks "stability of global energy markets" and oil ministers including Saudi Arabia's say factors beyond their control limit OPEC's powers.

That cleared the way for OPEC ministers to try to steer the summit towards relatively uncontroversial environmental issues.