APEC ministers urged to pursue liberalization
APEC ministers urged to pursue liberalization
OKINAWA (Dow Jones): Energy ministers from Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation countries should implement timely economic reform as a means to encourage private sector participation in energy infrastructure and to assist the economic recovery, an energy business forum said in a statement Thursday.
Energy ministers from the 18 APEC economies and three observer countries assembled Thursday for a two-day ministerial meeting Oct. 9-10 to focus on regional energy concerns.
At the conclusion of an energy business symposium held ahead of the ministerial meeting, senior energy officials emphasized that investment in energy infrastructure could be a key trigger for any regional economic recovery.
The main trends in the energy sector in the last decade have been liberalization, deregulation and the development of competitive markets, the statement said.
"Ministers should ensure liberalization measures don't slow down as a result of the (crisis in the) Asian economy, and some prudence may be required in their implementation," it said.
The APEC Energy Outlook produced by the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center indicates a significant rise of energy use of 40 percent or more toward 2010 in the Asia Pacific region, despite the current economic turmoil, while regional energy production will grow around 30 percent in the same period, the statement noted.
That means the task of meeting growing energy demand will require the mobilization of the necessary capital. The role of government is to provide a regulatory framework and create an environment conducive to private-sector investment, the statement said.
The statement was presented as a wish-list and discussion document to APEC energy ministers ahead of the coming conference.
The energy business forum also emphasized environmental concerns, recommending that the industry continue to increase energy efficiency together with improvements in conservation measures in production, conversion and use.
In that regard, the statement urged ministers to provide an appropriate policy framework and incentives, including financial support and inter-governmental cooperation, to promote the use of clean and renewable energy.
In particular, it strongly supported the idea of an APEC national gas network as contributing to energy-supply growth and the economic revival of the region.
"Pipeline gas trading should be encouraged to develop initially locally and grow to complement existing LNG (liquefied natural gas) business," the forum said.
APEC economies are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the U.S. Russia, Peru and Vietnam are participating as observers ahead of formal membership in November.
Participants at the energy business forum included around 200 senior representatives from regional state oil concerns Petroliam Nasional Bhd of Malaysia and Indonesia's Pertamina, oil majors including Exxon Corp and Royal Dutch/Shell Group and oil, gas and power generation companies including Enron Corp, Atlantic Richfield Co and Unocal Corp.