OPEC will respond to any oil shortage if needed, but capacity limited -UAE energy minister

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will respond to any possible oil shortages if necessary but it also has "limitations", the United Arab Emirates energy minister said on Wednesday.

"We can't replace any quantity with the spare capacity we have," Suhail al-Mazrouei told a conference in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Mazrouei said he sees no situation where there would be a fear of supply shortage and that demand was healthy and global oil inventories were "hovering" around the 5-year average.