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To: mph who wrote (21980)	5/14/1998 12:16:00 AM
From: pz	Respond to of 95453

By Issam Hamza DAMASCUS, May 13 (Reuters) - Arab energy ministers on Wednesday urged better cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers and consumers to stabilise petroleum markets weighed down by a glut of crude. Better links were needed because sharp price changes damaged the economies of producers and consumers alike, ministers said in a communique after an energy conference in the Syrian capital. "The conference stressed the importance of improving cooperation among OPEC and non-OPEC producers and the countries which import oil to help stabilise the oil market," it said. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi was among oil and energy ministers and officials from all Arab countries attending the four-day gathering, held every four years. Naimi said on the sidelines of the conference that he had been encouraged by the withdrawal of supplies from the market by oil producers in the wake of a March pact aimed at rescuing weak prices. Producers have pledged some 1.5 million barrels a day (bpd) of reductions, the lion's share from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members. The landmark agreement on output reductions reached in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was widely hailed as a rare example of cooperation between OPEC states and major non-OPEC producers such as Norway and Mexico. A Gulf source said at the Damascus gathering that further cuts could be made soon if prices stayed at their current weak level. Benchmark Brent is still running more than $4 below last year's $19.30 a barrel average, with oversupply aggravated by weak Asian demand and increased OPEC output earlier this year to blame. The communique also said Arab ministers affirmed a commitment to guarantee oil supplies to world markets "within reasonable costs." A report by the Organisation of the Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), one of the conference organisers, said world oil demand would rise to more than 86 million bpd in 2005 from 73.8 million bpd in 1997. The OAPEC report said combined Arab oil production would increase to 29 million bpd in 2005 from 21 million bpd in 1997. These figures showed the Arab world's share of world demand would increase to 34 percent in 2005 from 28.5 percent in 1997, the report said. Arab ministers also called for rationalisation in the use of oil and the other energy resources and for a balance between production and the revenue needed to achieve economic development, the communique said. It said the ministers also noted that demand for natural gas was expected to increase in coming years and urged Arab states to invest in this sector to allow their gas products to reach the world market. An OAPEC report said natural gas constituted Arabs' second most important source of energy after oil. "The share of natural gas in energy consumption rose to 38.4 percent in 1996 from 35.8 percent in 1992," the OAPEC report said. Arab countries' confirmed reserves of gas in 1997 stood at 32.6 trillion cubic metres, it said. According to the OAPEC report, world demand for gas would increase to 2,885 billion cubic metres in 2005 from 2,185 billion cubic metres in 1996.