The Petroleum Council, an advisory body to the minister for international trade and industry, basically agreed Tuesday that the government should scrap a series of measures to balance supply and demand of petroleum products, a ministry official said.

Under the current system, oil refining firms are required to seek government approval when they enter the business, construct new refineries and before undertaking many other moves.

Such restrictions, however, should be scrapped and the government should stop intervention in pricing, according to a draft of the council's interim report.

The framework of the report, which was prepared by the ministry based on council discussions that began last November, also pointed to the need for legislative measures to enable the government to act in cases of emergency to ensure the nation's energy security. To set such a legal framework, however, it is necessary to hold further discussions, it says.

The council is set to finalize its interim report on June 8, while the second round of discussions will begin in the fall to go over emergency measures as well as oil development and reserve policies, the ministry official said.