Global oil execs sound cautious note on U.S. economy

By Anna Driver

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil executives from around the world expressed growing concern over the health of the U.S. economy on Tuesday as they continue to watch for signs that any weakness may spread to other economies and hurt global energy demand.

Oil prices have soared to record levels, recently climbing above $100 a barrel on robust demand from fast-growing economies like India and China and worries about supply disruptions.

But that scenario may fall apart if a downturn in the U.S. economy hits demand.

"The effects of the sub-prime debt problem have rippled through global markets, risking global economic growth and creating uncertainty for the oil market in general, and oil demand in particular," Abdallah Jumah, the chief executive officer of Saudi Arabia's Saudi Aramco, said in a keynote address at the CERAWeek Energy Conference in Houston.

The world's financial firms have reported tens of billions of dollars in write-downs for complex debt backed by risky sub-prime mortgages and other assets.

The chief executive of Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL) echoed Jumah's concern.

"The uncertainty is bigger than it has been in the past," Helge Lund, chief executive officer of StatoilHydro, told a CERAWeek news conference.

Lund added that he believes a recession in the U.S. would spread to economies in other countries and hit demand for oil.

Others agree.

"The U.S. is 25 percent of the global economy, and if it has a mild slowdown, it's hard for the rest of the world to escape," Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of public policy and economics at Harvard University, told the conference.

The U.S. economy is already in a mild recession, Rogoff said.

The chief of U.S. based oil producer and refiner Hess Corp (HES.N) said he had seen the slowdown hurt sales at the company's convenience stores on the U.S. East Coast.

"We've started to see some moderation in demand, in some locations a decrease," Hess CEO John Hess told a news conference.

Hess also blamed the soft U.S. economy for weakness in his company's refining margins.

The CEO of the third largest U.S. oil company, ConocoPhillips (COP.N), said U.S. oil demand was softening, but that one positive effect of a possible recession could be lower energy prices.