US official urges reform in oil producer countries

US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Anthony Wayne told a seminar in Brussels today that producer countries in Central Asia, the Caspian region, and elsewhere risk missing out on the investments necessary to develop their resources.

Securing new energy supplies has become an increasingly pressing challenge for the United States and other developed countries faced with spiraling global demand for gas and oil, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty informs.

According to the US Assistant Secretary of State Anthony Wayne, the countries surrounding the Caspian Sea with their "underexploited" oil-and-gas reserves could have a key role to play to help meet that demand.

Speaking in Brussels before an audience of diplomats, EU officials, and journalists, Wayne said finding the money to develop these resources will be difficult without "open and transparent investment regimes". The countries will also need to be stable and capable of ensuring the physical safety of their energy infrastructure.

Wayne singled out Central Asia and Azerbaijan as key targets for US and EU efforts.

"We are working - as I know the European Union is working - to engage with a number of these key countries around the world, for example, in Central Asia, [and] in the Caspian," Wayne said. "We have an energy dialogue with Azerbaijan where we address issues such as regulatory reform, environmental and technology issues, investment climate, energy efficiency."