Summit draft lacks bite

The communique from an emergency meeting of world oil powers on Sunday is unlikely to set out any specific steps toward curbing runaway prices, sources who had seen a copy of the draft statement said on Sunday.

The sources said the message would focus on greater transparency in oil futures markets, increased investment to boost capacity throughout the energy sector and on the use of low-carbon renewable energy sources.

"You've got a joint communique that has got to withstand the scrutiny of producers and consumers," one source told newswire Reuters, on condition of anonymity. "It is a good common statement of concern. It probably won't meet anybody's expectations or needs."

The sources said there were no hard measures or targets mentioned in the communique, which will be a joint statement from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Arabia and the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).

Riyadh summoned both producers and consumers, plus chief executives from big oil firms, to the meeting after an unprecedented day of trading on June 6, when oil prices surged by $11 a barrel to a new peak, the largest ever one-day rise.

The price has doubled in a year to almost $140 a barrel, despite recent efforts to slow the ascent. US crude oil futures closed at $134.62 on Friday.

Delegations were also still negotiating over two areas of disagreement: the role and importance of speculation in the price of oil; and the role of biofuels in the world's future energy mix, according to the sources.

Algeria's official APS news agency reported on Saturday the draft statement recommended "the strengthening of transparency of financial markets having regard to their impact on world petroleum markets".

More information should be gathered about speculators and "unreal judgements about the real price of a barrel of oil and the future of the crude market," it said. (Reuters)

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