“This means we will have $200 a barrel oil,” said Mohammed H. A. Abudawood, a prominent businessman and member of the Jeddah Economic Forum, after the speeches were finished and the delegates began drifting out of the room.
At Oil Conference, Saudis Offer Slight Rise in Production
By ROBERT F. WORTH and JAD MOUAWAD
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — An emergency energy summit meeting convened hastily here on Sunday underscored how few options the world has to push oil prices down from their record levels, as producers and consumers repeatedly emphasized starkly divergent views on both the fundamental causes and possible remedies for the current energy crisis.
The one-day meeting in this coastal town on the Red Sea ended with the promise of a modest increase in Saudi oil production that is unlikely to stem the most-rapid run-up in oil prices ever. Beyond that, participants called for both more transparency and more regulation in energy markets, more investments in both production and refining capacity, and more cooperation between producers and consumers.
(LATER: Who knew the noteable quote up there would be purged from the article? Fortunately, I'm not the only one who saw it, nor the only one who noticed the purge.)
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Energy Reaction
This shows how little spare capacity there is right now. The Saudi "increase" comes after two years of slight production declines with few new reserves discoveries. This, when coupled with declines elsewhere, demonstrates how much we need a coherent energy policy.