"If we are indeed serious about developing more effective and more enduring energy security solutions for the long term, then surely we should be targeting the root causes of our supply concerns rather than simply battling with their various manifestations like the many heads of the Hydra," Abdallah Jumah, president and chief executive officer of Aramco, said at the CERA weeklong energy confab in Houston.

He said the world already uses methods such as bolstering security of infrastructure and pursuing diversification of sources, but those methods only offer part of the answer.

"If we could proactively address the fundamental causes of our energy security challenges, many of the most pressing concerns would diminish in intensity and relevance, and in some cases would dissipate altogether."

Much of the world's oil supply lies in parts of the world that are the scene of unrest such as the Middle East and Nigeria's Niger Delta.

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Krishnadev Calamur, UPI International Security Editor