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Experts attending the China-Montreux Energy Roundtable 2005 said in Beijing on Sunday that there are a dozen of factors contributing to the current surging oil price and it is unfair to blame China solely.
Professor Subroto, chairman of the Foundation of Indonesian Institute for Energy Economics, said that different from the oil crisis occurred in last century that were caused by disruption of supply, the current soaring oil price are caused by demand increase with increasing economic activity worldwide.
Moreover, the small excess capacity of major oil producers and political factors are also important factors contributing to the current soaring oil price, he said.
However, Subroto believed that the oil price will somewhat fall with more investment in the industry and more supply.
But it could be definitely say that the era of US$25 per barrel will not come back, he said.
Ali Al-Muhareb, Vice President, Corporate Planning of Saudi Aramco, said that there is no physical shortage of oil even when the oil price has been hovering at some US$60 per barrel.
The current supply shortage was caused by lack of investment in refining industry and infrastructures such as distribution and transportation when the oil price was relatively low a few years ago, he said.
Richard Mckean, President and Founder of Montreux Energy said the expectation of the financial market for the supply and demand tension of the oil market is another reason attributing to the current high price.
It is not right to say that one single reason leading to the current high oil price as a dozen of factors finally attributed to the current situation, said William C. Ramsay, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency.
However, as the cost for producing a barrel of oil is only US$11-12, it is still unreasonable to see the price rise to a high level of about US$60 per barrel, he said.
Since the international oil price began to surge in 2004, China's rising demand has been blamed as the major factor for lifting the price. It is unfair to blame China, a developing country that is experiencing its economic development and seeing its normal growth of energy demand, said Subroto.
What the world should also see is that China is trying its best to produce more oil and natural gas to reduce its dependency on import, to improve its energy consumption structure by using more renewable and new energies and to enhance its energy efficiency, he said.
As a world-famous high-level international energy forum, Montreux Energy Roundable saw it first forum held in China in 2004.
Nearly 200 professionals in the energy circle from both home and overseas attended the China-Montreux Energy Roundtable 2005 to discuss topics on energy sustainability: efficiency and reliability.
(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2005)
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