Ministers call for measures to counter oil prices<\/p>\n
Associated Press, Gyeongju<\/p>\n
Pacific Rim energy ministers on Wednesday called for a wide-
\nranging response to soaring oil prices and vowed to increase
\ncooperation with OPEC and other international organizations to
\nimprove energy market transparency and reduce price swings.<\/p>\n
\"We agreed that effective responses to high and increasingly
\nvolatile oil prices require a broad range of supply and demand-
\nside measures,\" energy chiefs from the Asia-Pacific Economic
\nCooperation forum said in a statement at the end of a special
\none-day meeting in this southeastern Korean city.<\/p>\n
Those steps include using strategic oil stocks to respond to
\nsupply disruptions, fostering investment in oil exploration,
\noutput and refining and promoting measures to increase energy
\nefficiency and diversification of resources, the statement said.<\/p>\n
Energy chiefs from the 21-member forum, which includes oil-
\nproducing nations Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and
\nthe United States as well as resource-poor economies like Japan
\nand South Korea, also held their first-ever meeting with the
\nOrganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.<\/p>\n
The APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting is usually held every two
\nyears, but because of surging crude prices one was scheduled for
\nthis year following last year's Manila gathering. This year's was
\nthe seventh gathering.<\/p>\n
Increased demand, low spare production capacity, a lack of
\nrefining capacity, speculative trading and worries about adequate
\nlong-term supplies of oil have caused prices to rise, the
\nministers said.<\/p>\n
\"High oil prices ... present APEC economies with significant
\nchallenges,\" they said.<\/p>\n
Crude prices, which rose above US$70 a barrel in late August,
\nhave caused worries about their impact on global growth by
\nraising costs for consumers and companies.<\/p>\n
Prices have since pulled back, though concerns remain
\nfollowing hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States and
\nwhether supplies will be adequate going into the Northern
\nHemisphere winter, when demand for heating oil peaks.<\/p>\n
Adnan Shihab-Eldin, OPEC's acting secretary-general, told the
\nministers in a speech that the global economy has grown less
\ndependent on oil and shown \"remarkable resilience\" to its rising
\nprices.<\/p>\n
\"However, we must not be complacent as signs of an impact on
\nsome economies are beginning to appear, especially in emerging
\neconomies with large fuel subsidies,\" Shihab-Eldin said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the only country that belongs to both APEC and
\nOPEC, has been hit particularly hard by surging prices. Its
\ngovernment earlier this month cut fuel subsidies, announcing the
\ncost of gasoline would rise 87 percent while diesel fuel would
\nmore than double and kerosene triple.<\/p>\n
The country, which spent $7.4 billion last year on fuel
\nsubsidies, is trying to balance its ballooning budget deficit and
\nstave off an economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Ministers also called for expanding energy trade among APEC
\nmembers, investment in energy infrastructure and acceleration of
\ntechnological development in the energy sector.<\/p>\n
APEC's economies account for about 60 percent of global energy
\nconsumption and import 77.2 percent of the crude oil produced by
\nOPEC, according to South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry
\nand Energy.<\/p>\n
APEC, launched in 1989, has as its main goal boosting trade
\namong its members, ultimately establishing a free trade area by
\n2020. The organization also includes Australia, Brunei, Chile,
\nHong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>",
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