Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference Addresses High Oil Prices

Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference addresses high oil prices

SINGAPORE, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) — The 21st Asia-Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) opened here on Monday evening with the theme of “High oil prices: fundamentals versus financials.”

The three-day event has invited professionals from the region’s oil and gas industry as well as international practitioners to discuss such topics as the impact of Asian oil supply and demand on the global markets, and oil trading versus the commodity investors.

Delivering the opening address, Singapore’s 2nd Minister for Trade and Industry Vivian Balakrishnan said that high global demand for oil, especially in Asia, is believed to have triggered the recent surge in oil prices.

“This strong demand is underpinned by robust economic growth,” he said, adding that the oil demand in Asia accounted for nearly half of the increase in global oil consumption last year.

He said that there exist significant opportunities for growth for Singapore in areas including oil exploration and production engineering and services, refining, supply chain and logistics, as well as trading.

Inaugurated in 1985, the APPEC series provides participants with discussion sessions, networking activities and exhibition venues to share their expertise and explore potential business tie- ups.