Asia, Middle East call for limits on energy speculation

Major oil-producing and consuming nations in in the Middle East and Asia called for limits on speculation in the energy industry as they ended a one-day dialogue here Sunday.

Ministers and officials from 21 countries said continuous investment was needed to meet a rise in demand in Asia over the medium-to-long term.

"Participants recognised that excessive fluctuations in oil prices are undesirable for both energy producers and consumers and that financial markets have an impact on oil price formation," said a summary issued after the meeting by co-chairs Japan and Qatar.

"Regarding transparency of commodity markets and supervision on over-the-counter markets, participants appreciated national authorities' efforts and called for further harmonised actions such as introduction of position limits," it said.

Foreseeing growth in energy demand in Asia, participants also affirmed that continuous investment was "essential as a means to balancing supply and demand in the future", it added.

Investment in oil exploration and supply facilities has shrunk due to the global recession, causing worries over securing enough supply in the future.

Participants also "emphasised that investment in technologies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy resources should be parallel to investment in clean fossil fuel technologies", the summary said.

Participants in Sunday's meeting included representatives from Japan, China, India, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

It was the third meeting of the Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable, which seeks to stabilise the oil market.

The chair's statement also said participants had welcomed Japan's proposal to conduct a study to project supply and demand in the region.

Japan also offered to accept 2,000 people from the Middle East over the next three years for training in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other issues in the sector.

Japanese Trade, Economy and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai noted the world economy will get on a recovery track in the future.

"Let's have in-depth talks between producing and consuming countries now" before starting bickering over oil prices, Nikai said during the meeting.