Business and government leaders said Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that price and supply fears of world oil and gas were exaggerated.

"There can be no doubt that because of the impacts of globalization, 9/11, Iraq and other factors, the risks have become higher. But I question whether this is more perception than real," said Nigerian Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

"I am surprised when one dollar or three dollars is added to the price because of a minor incident somewhere, for example a kidnapping or a pipeline broken into in the Niger Delta," he added.

Continuing tightness of spare production capacity is the main reason why oil markets remain nervous, suggested Thierry Demarest, chairman and CEO of French oil giant Total.

Demarest expects "an improvement in gas supply security over the next few years," and natural gas will play a more important part in the energy mix.

On the demand side, he called for the international community to take action to moderate demand, through energy saving programs and encouraging substitutes for fossil fuels in order to ease pressures over the longer term.

The President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Abdallah S. Jum'ah, gave assurances that his country has more than adequate spare capacity to replace any interruptions to oil supply.

"There's no real shortage of oil," he said. "If there is a real problem it exists outside the oil industry, and results from the globalization of misinformation."

Oil prices rose 34 percent in 2004 and hit record highs in late October, raising concerns on energy prices and supply.