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.