IEA’s Tanaka Says Mideast Risk Hampers Oil Investment

Geopolitical risk in the Middle East deters investors and is a concern for the oil industry, Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Risks “certainly hamper investment into the region,” Tanaka said today at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He named Turkey a “very strategic transit country from the Caspian or Russia to the West,” adding that “how the area can be stabilized politically is very important for investors.”

Tanaka spoke after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a panel discussion in protest after clashing with Israeli President Shimon Peres over Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Asked about volatility in the oil market, Tanaka said “we don’t say the ideal price.” While cheaper crude helps boost the global economy, higher prices later would help investment, he said.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 11:30 am and is filed under Market news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.