Jeddah summit ends amid acrimony

The Jeddah energy summit, convened to address rocketing oil prices, ended on Sunday with calls for greater transparency and regulation in dealing and more investment in oil production.

The summit's final communiqué came amid accusations by oil producers that 'speculators' are playing a key role in the dramatic rise in crude prices that earlier this month hit a record close to $140 per barrel.

'Participants noted with concern that oil prices have risen sharply and become more hostile due to a host of factors,' said the closing statement from the high-profile meeting of major oil powers and consumers in this Saudi city.

'Participants agreed that the situation requires concerted efforts from all parties -- producing and consuming countries -- to bring stability to the international oil market for the benefit of all,' it added.

Leaders and ministers from the 36 nations agreed to recognize that 'the transparency and regulation of financial markets should be improved through measures to capture more data on index fund activity and to examine cross-exchange interactions in the crude market.'

The statement also appealed for increased investment in crude production to ensure markets have sufficient supplies.

'The existence of spare capacity throughout the chain is important for the stability of the global oil market,' it said.

'Hence, an appropriate increase in investment, both upstream and downstream, is necessary to ensure that the markets are well supplied in a timely and adequate manner.'

The Jeddah Energy Meeting participants also welcomed an offer by Britain to stage a similar gathering later this year to assess what progress has been made.

The statement added that all nations wanted to promote greater energy efficiency among producers and consumers alike.