India, China compete for oil, other resources
Following deals with Venezuela and Kazakhstan, India was offered investment opportunities by Egypt, the Hindu reported.
Egypt has one of the 10 largest natural gas reserves, said visiting Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abou El Naga.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Essar are already in Egypt, but there are additional opportunities, Naga said, asking more Indian companies to come explore the possibilities.
Egypt is committed to extend cooperation to Indian companies to work in the oil and natural gas sector.
The Egyptian minister said the country also looked forward to greater cooperation between the two countries in other sectors.
China has been focusing its investments in the oil and gas sectors of African countries and in turn India has decided to turn its focus from OPEC countries to African nations for oil and gas assets to meet increasing energy requirements. Growing demand has been pointed out as one of the reasons for runaway increases in the cost of crude oil.
India partnered with several African countries on exploration and production as well as technological and technical assistance.
Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora said the country wants to acquire more oil and gas fields and help African countries begin new refinery and petrochemical plant projects.
OPEC says it won't alter production
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced that despite record high oil prices causing a decrease in demand, it will not change its production rate before September.
The weakening U.S. dollar is the primary factor driving crude prices, said OPEC President Chakib Khelil, who is Algeria's oil minister.
Some nations have called on OPEC to increase oil production to ease high prices, but member countries have not budged. Khelil said he and other OPEC leaders expect demand to increase again during the summer months.
He also added that improvements in the U.S. economy would more than likely ease the high world oil prices.
OPEC members supply about 40 percent of the 87 million barrels of oil consumed daily. They have, for months, maintained there is no oil shortage while the United States and others ask for OPEC to increase production and ease high prices. OPEC's leaders, including Khelil, continue to insist it's the weakening U.S. economy and geopolitical tensions that are to blame for the spike.
IEA lowers oil-use estimates
The Paris-based International Energy Agency revised its annual global consumption estimates to reflect a decrease in demand. Record high prices for crude oil have reportedly caused the downturn.
IEA officials noted the ailing U.S. economy was one of the reasons demand will not increase as rapidly as it has in past years.
Warnings from Washington regarding Iran and rumors of nationalization in Russian oil and gas fields are propping up already high prices.
Some energy market analysts continue to blame crude's prices on the dollar falling against the euro, while others blame high prices on tensions around the Arabian Gulf, rocketing demand in China and potentially serious supply difficulties in Russia. Qatar's recent announcement of a moratorium on new export contracts and uncertainties in Iran will only cause more speculation over prices.
The IEA said demand will now be 87.2 million barrels per day, down 310,000 from its last forecast of 87.5 million barrels per day last month, though the current forecast still calls for demand growth of 1.27 million barrels per day in 2008.
The group also projected that a break in the record-high oil prices is not expected any time in the near future.
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Closing oil prices, Apr. 14, 3 p.m. London
Brent crude oil: $109.42
West Texas Intermediate crude oil: $111.24
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