U.S. meets Iran on energy panel to debate oil price

Bloomberg

By Ayesha Daya - Mar 14, 2012 4:19 AM GMT

U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman will join Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi to discuss ways to mitigate crude-price volatility at the International Energy Forum in Kuwait.

Brent crude has risen 17 percent this year amid supply concerns as the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer, and Europe tighten sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. As much as 1 million barrels a day of Iranian exports may be lost because of the injunctions, the International Energy Agency said last month.

Ali al-Naimi, the oil minister of the world’s biggest crude exporter Saudi Arabia, will also be on the panel, according to the agenda. The kingdom pumped 9.8 million barrels a day last month, near the highest in three decades, as Iran’s buyers in Asia and the European Union cut purchases to comply with sanctions and seek alternative supplies.

The International Energy Forum, consisting of a group of nations that account for more than 90 percent of global oil and gas supply and demand, gathers for the second and final day in Kuwait today. The U.S has no formal diplomatic relations with Iran. Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy has accused Iran’s Shiite government of stirring up unrest among Shiite minorities in the Arab state.

Ministers will discuss developments in data transparency as well as energy market and volatility issues and offer guidance on priorities for the future, the agenda document shows.

“The adverse economic, political and social consequences of the sharp swings and movements in oil prices that have characterized the market since 2008 remain a source of concern,” the document says. “A common school of thought in the current debate proposes that, although price movement is a necessary element of market-making, the sharp price swings that we have witnessed in recent years are harmful.”

Brent crude for April settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange traded at $126.05 a barrel, down 17 cents, at 11:39 a.m. in Singapore. Brent rose 88 cents to $126.22 yesterday, the highest settlement price in 11 months.