Asean Ministers to ditch talks on sharing oil stockpile

Asean energy ministers are likely to skip planned discussions on sharing emergency oil stockpiles, Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

"The war in Iraq is over. There may not be a need to discuss this topic anymore," Ong said on the sidelines of the 21st Asean Ministers of Energy and Senior Officials. The meeting is taking place in Langkawi, Malaysia from June 29 to July 3.

Asean, or the Association of South East Asian Nations, groups Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and Cambodia.

Asean had planned to discuss the possibility of sharing emergency oil stocks because some countries were holding low stocks prior to the start of the U.S.- led war in Iraq.

"Singapore has a 90-day stockpile for emergency, but at one time, the Philippines had only two weeks supply of oil," Ong said.

The aim of the sharing of oil stocks is for Asean countries to help each other, he added.

Singapore maintains a 90-day oil stockpile at all times, one of the highest in the region.(*)