Refining shortage cause of high oil price: UAE

DUBAI (Reuters) - High oil prices are due to a shortage of refining capacity in industrialized nations, the United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said in remarks published on Tuesday.

"There are not enough refineries to meet growing demand," Hamli told the Gulf News daily.

"A shortage of refineries is one of the main reasons behind the increasing prices as a result of the policies adopted by industrialized nations not to invest in new refineries due to environmental concerns, while the sector needs substantial new investments."

OPEC has consistently said that fundamentals are not to blame and that high oil prices are due to factors beyond its control such as U.S. dollar weakness, speculation and international politics as well as a lack of refining capacity.

But concerns over globally rising prices have prompted Saudi Arabia to host a meeting of producers and consumers on June 22 to discuss rising oil.

Reports that Saudi Arabia plans to boost output initially helped ease prices but the effect was offset by U.S. dollar weakness, propelling oil to a record high of almost $140 a barrel on Monday.

The UAE is one of the few members of OPEC with the spare capacity available to boost output, along with Saudi Arabia.

In Abu Dhabi to meet Hamli on Monday, British Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks told Reuters that the UAE had not made any promise to boost output.

(Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Michael Urquhart)