RIYADH, 6 April 2004 — Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Salman, deputy minister for petroleum and mineral resources, said here yesterday that the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is determined to keep oil supply steady and will work with European Union to ensure energy stability and sustainability.
Prince Abdul Aziz was speaking at the inaugural session of the first EUROGULF workshop organized by the International Energy Forum Secretariat (IEFS) here.
“The dialogue within the framework of EUROGULF will help to enhance energy cooperation between the GCC and EU”, said Prince Abdul Aziz. EUROGULF, which seeks to develop new ideas for better cooperation in the oil and gas sector between the two regional blocs, is a research project on GCC-EU energy relations supported by the European Commission, implemented by a consortium of Arab and European research institutes.
Prince Abdul Aziz declined to comment about the EU’s move to increase strategic stocks saying that “this is purely a European issue”.
But Professor Giacomo Luciani, co-director of the European Mediterranean Program at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies in Italy said oil reserves would come up for discussion at the ongoing workshop. “The EC has proposed increasing strategic stocks from 90 days to 120 days despite criticism by the European Parliament. The EC, on the other hand, has proposed that there should also be a dialogue with the oil producing countries on the issue of stocks,” he said.
Oil will remain the dominant fuel in the primary energy mix with a share of 40 percent in 2020 as a result of 1.9 percent annual growth. The volume of oil demand globally is at the same time projected at close to 115 million bpd in 2020 compared to 75 million bpd in 1997.
“Our mission is to support the dialogue, and this workshop is one such element to promote a broader energy vision”, said Ambassador Arne Walther, adding that the next IEF ministerial meeting will be held in the Netherlands from May 22 to 24 this year.