RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- New Delhi called on the OPEC oil cartel to increase oil production and urged tighter control on energy markets during the Arab uprising.
Crude oil prices hit two-year highs as gaps in energy supplies emerged from the violence in Libya, a key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and one of the world's top oil producers.
Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Jaipal Reddy said at a meeting for the International Energy Forum in Saudi Arabia that with crude oil prices reaching short-term highs, the key issue in the energy market was to regulate the markets to avoid excess volatility.
"Price discovery of such a vital and finite resource as oil cannot be left entirely unregulated, whether in the commodity derivatives markets or in the financial markets,'' he was quoted by Indian newspaper The Hindu as saying.
Iranian officials, who hold the rotating presidency at OPEC, said there was no need for an emergency meeting because there was plenty of oil on the market. Analysts note, meanwhile, that Saudi Arabia could have enough spare oil capacity to make up for Libyan shortfalls.
Libyan oil makes up about 2 percent of global stocks. The Wall Street Journal reports overall oil production in down 75 percent in Libya.
