Taiwan's state-owned CPC Corporation on Tuesday signed a 20-year contract with Qatar's RasGas to buy 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas a year.

The sales and purchase agreement was signed by Taiwan's sole importer of LNG and RasGas subsidiary Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co Limited (3), or RL3, on the sidelines of the 20th World Petroleum Congress held in Doha.

French oil company Total said Monday it was suspending its operations in Syria in line with EU sanctions, which indirectly target its local partner.

"We have informed the Syrian authorities of our decision to halt our operations with GPC (General Petroleum Corporation) in order to comply with sanctions," the company said in a statement.

The emir of energy-rich Qatar moved on Monday to reassure consuming countries that energy supplies from the Middle East will not be disrupted by political upheavals sweeping the region.

"Events in the Arab region raised concern over energy supply... I would like to stress on the commitment made ... to maintain oil supply," Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani said at the opening of an energy forum in Doha.

International ratings agency Moody's on Monday downgraded to negative from stable the outlook on Lebanon's banking system, due in part to upheavals in the Arab world, especially in neighboring Syria.

Moody's said slower economic growth and the banks' asset and loan exposures to other regional countries experiencing political unrest or economic slowdown, such as Egypt and Jordan, contributed to the new rating.

The European Union needs a "fiscal union" in order to overcome the eurozone debt crisis, Germany's finance minister said on Monday ahead of vital talks in Paris between the German and French leaders.

"A fiscal union has to be created alongside a political union," Wolfgang Schaeuble said during a visit to Hungary.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Greek political leaders Monday his government is "standing with you in solidarity," at the start of a crucial week for the future of the debt-saddled eurozone.

Biden, who traveled from Turkey, met with President Karolos Papoulias before starting talks with new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and leaders of the main parties backing the country's new coalition government.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Monday that the kingdom's oil output has jumped to more than 10 million barrels per day, up from an estimated 8.8 million bpd in April.

"Saudi Arabia is currently producing more than 10 million bpd," Naimi said in a speech read out on his behalf by a ministry official at a conference in Riyadh.

Italy's political parties voiced support for Prime Minister Mario Monti on Saturday and urged him to focus on fairness as he prepared to unveil urgent reforms to pull the country out of a debt crisis.

"Our main advice is to proceed with equity (so that) the burden is in line with what taxpayers can afford," Angelo Alfano, head of former premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, said after meeting with Monti.

Egypt's future finance minister said on Saturday it was too soon to say whether the country would take a loan of $3.2 billion offered by the International Monetary Fund to fund its budget deficit.

"It is too soon to know the outcome for this agreement with the IMF for a loan of $3.2 billion dollars, (for) the budget deficit estimated at 134 billion Egyptian pounds ($22 billion)," Mumtaz Said said in a statement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's uncompromising stance on Europe's financial crisis faced mounting criticism Saturday as senior political figures urged her to reconsider her rejection of Eurobonds.

"One cannot categorically rule out resorting to Eurobonds. They could become vital," European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview with Die Welt.