CANCUN, Mexico, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The world's oil producing nations are at risk of wasting investment if oil prices are too low or too volatile, Abdullah Al-Badri, the secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) told the International Energy Forum (IEF) on Wednesday.

"There is a very real risk of wasting financial resources on unneeded capacity," Al-Badri, a Libyan citizen, said during his presentation to the IEF, in Mexican resort city Cancun. "Current fears sourcing the pace of the global economic recovery translate into an uncertainty gap for OPEC member countries."

During 2008 oil prices saw swoops to record highs close to 150 U.S. dollar a barrel, but ended the year close to 30 dollars a barrel, because U.S. financial sector crisis spread into the rest of the economy and to the rest of the world. Oil producers canceled projects and continue to have more than 6 million barrels a day of space capacity even now, Al-Badri said.

"Moreover, non-crude oil supply is going to play a major role in satisfying future increases in demand," Al-Badri said. "The key is not related to availability but to deliverability and sustainability."

Brazil, which has become an oil producer but not joined OPEC, has been using ethanol made from sugar cane in transport for nearly 30 years. This decade, the use of fuel ethanol from a variety of sources has spread to the United States, Germany and India, reducing demand for fossil fuels.
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