Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi (second, from left) and Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz (second, from right), along with other senior officials, during a meeting in Riyadh Saturday.RIYADH – Turkey and Saudi Arabia agreed to set up working group on energy after Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz met with Saudi Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi Saturday. Yildiz held talks with Naimi on the sidelines of his two-day formal visit to the Saudi Arabian capital. During the meeting, Yildiz discussed Turkey's oil and natural gas needs, among others. The two sides stressed, during the discussions, the need for oil market stability for the sake of the global economy, particularly developing countries. The ministers also discussed close cooperation in the fields of petroleum and energy, including trade, training and investment. Al-Naimi welcomed Turkey's regional role, while Yildiz said Turkey was pleased to cooperate with Saudi Arabia not only in oil and energy but also in many other areas. Speaking to reporters following his talks in Riyadh, Yildiz said he discussed not only regional developments but also political issues concerning the world as well as developments in Europe which was under a global crisis threat. Yildiz said Turkey and Saudi Arabia decided to set up a working group which would prepare technical infrastructure regarding energy. "We will host national oil companies in the world in Turkey at the end of May," Yildiz said. Yildiz also said Saudi Arabian national company would also attend the meeting in Turkey. Oil rallied this week, with Brent hitting a six-month high on recent upbeat data, winter weather in the northern hemisphere and Iran tensions, while other commodities steadied as traders eyed Greek news. "This week, the crude oil markets broke free from almost a month of range-bound trading, as a combination of improved macro data, the arrival of winter weather, new supply disruptions and amplified geopolitical tension boosted prices," said Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan. Brent oil prices spiked Thursday to $118.79 per barrel - the highest level since Aug. 1 - as the market was propelled by ongoing tensions in key crude producer Iran and tentative hopes of a Greek debt deal. "Hopes of a new bailout package for Greece, the weaker US dollar and the ongoing supply risks due to Iran, Sudan and Nigeria are giving buoyancy to oil prices," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. "Additional support is provided by the frosty conditions in Europe which weather experts predict will continue until the end of the month," he added. Oil sentiment took a slight hit after the IEA and OPEC cut their estimates for 2012 global oil demand growth. On London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March jumped to $116.93 a barrel from $113.38 last week. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for March rose to $98.04 from $97.31.
