Qatar :'Arab Spring' won't affect energy supplies

The emir of energy-rich Qatar moved on Monday to reassure consuming countries that energy supplies from the Middle East will not be disrupted by political upheavals sweeping the region. "Events in the Arab region raised concern over energy supply... I would like to stress on the commitment made ... to maintain oil supply," Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani said at the opening of an energy forum in Doha. "We believe that supply will overcome the crises in the Middle East region," he added. "We in Qatar," in cooperation with other producers, are working "to maintain our supplies" of energy to consuming countries, he said. Oil prices closed last week up, aided by rising tensions with Iran and Syria and some promising US job figures. They pushed higher Monday in Asia after Iran's military had reportedly shot down a US drone and ahead of a Franco-German euro rescue meeting. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, was up 33 cents to $101.29 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for January delivery rose 48 cents to $110.42. Protests and uprisings that have swept across several Arab countries, toppling four autocratic leaders, have slashed Libya's oil production of 1.7 million barrels per day, disrupted Yemen gas exports, and led to a ban on Syrian oil exports due to sanctions over a crackdown on protests. But production in the energy-rich Gulf region was not affected, with trouble confined to the small kingdom of Bahrain in spring, and small confrontations between Saudi security forces and protesters from the kingdom's Shiite minority. Small protests also took place in Kuwait and Oman.