Jeddah deepens oil price dialogue, but no quick fix

By Simon Webb and Summer Said

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - World energy powers embarked on a new level of dialogue to try to rein in runaway oil prices at an emergency meeting in this Red Sea city, but were unable to come up with a quick fix.

Host Saudi Arabia vowed to pump still more oil in response to consumer countries' requests, but said that alone would not be enough to calm a market driven to a record close to $140 a barrel last week by an array of factors.

"In this critical hour, the world community should rise to its responsibility and cooperation should be the cornerstone of any efforts," Saudi King Abdullah said on Sunday, calling for a global "energy-for-the-poor" initiative.

A barrel of oil has doubled in price over the past year, stoking inflation and triggering protests from Asia to Europe.

Major producers, consumers and top oil company executives gathered in Saudi Arabia's commercial capital to try to reverse what some see as the world's third oil shock.

They plan to hold a follow-up meeting in London before the end of the year.

"What I've heard so far are basically all good ideas, but it will probably not change the price tomorrow morning," Royal Dutch Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer told Reuters.

The final communique, echoing previous consumer-producer statements, emphasized the importance of greater transparency in oil markets and more investment in production.

Even if any price impact might not be immediate, other executives said the meeting had achieved a higher level of dialogue.

Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said there was now agreement on the need for "a common effort".

"It's not just producers and consumers anymore, it's everyone," he said.

The CEOs and other delegates to Sunday's meeting took part in a similar session two months ago in Rome, where producers and consumers failed to agree publicly that oil prices were too high.

But oil's near $20 rise since then has all more openly united over the exorbitant cost of fuel. U.S. crude settled just under $135 a barrel on Friday.

"What we've got here ... is agreement that the oil price is too high," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the highest level foreign visitor to the talks.

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