Eni wants oil producer/consumer watchdog

A global oil agency representing all producers and consumers is vitally needed to combat price volatility and ensure that investments keep flowing into the oil sector, chief executive of Italy’s oil major Eni said on Monday.

Oil prices bouncing from $50 per barrel to $150 and back within a couple of years hinder investments in the global oil sector needed to ensure adequate supplies once the economy picks up and energy demand resumes growing, Eni’s Paolo Scaroni said.
“What is missing is a global oil agency, a kind of watchdog, which will represent all producers and consumers … and will have instruments necessary to stabilise prices,” Scaroni told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of energy ministers from the Group of Eight industrialised countries.

Such instruments should include global management of spare capacity including remuneration for producers which boost it and the creation of a market where operators could swap bookings of spare capacity, he said.

A special global stabilisation fund should also be created to ensure a minimum revenue level for producers when oil prices are falling.

Reuters