Asia's booming economy, lead by China and India, is being threatened by high oil prices and potential supply problems.
The warning came from a meeting of oil and gas industry officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, recently. They are urging Asian countries to reduce their reliance on the volatile Middle East, cooperate more to find new reserves at home and build a common stockpile to guard against market shocks.
Asia's demand for oil will grow faster in the next two decades than that of any other region in the world. Furthermore, Asia's dependency on outside sources for oil is expected to soar to 74 percent in 2010 from 62 percent in 2000, with the Middle East remaining the main source.
