Brussels, 06/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - US experience in extracting shale gas will underpin the work of the international conference organised by the European Commission in 2013.
Meeting on 5 December in Brussels, for its fourth meeting since it was set up in 2009, the EU/US Energy Council again underlined the importance of greater market transparency, its main leitmotiv. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for the EU on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, co-chairing the work with her US counterpart, Hillary Clinton, said that, “we need global and transparent global energy market if we want energy security”. Commissioner Günther Oettinger and Cypriot minister for energy Neoklis Sylikiotis made up the rest of the European delegation, whilst Clinton was accompanied by her country's vice secretary for energy, Daniel Poneman.
Their joint declaration on energy security forms part of the discussions carried out in 2012 on the exploration of hydrocarbons in Nigeria, Libya and Iraq, as well as the subject of global markets, good governance and investment. The EU and US still agree on the oil embargo on Iran and underlined their “mutual commitment” to greater transparency, “universal access” to energy, better energy efficiency and the development of renewable energies on a global scale. They also highlighted the importance of mutually beneficial relations based on transparency, competition and a level playing field in relations with Russia. They welcomed the progress made by the Ukraine in its efforts to reform its gas sector. The US and the EU were also pleased with the progress made towards completing the Southern Gas Corridor, a project that clearly has the support of Washington and aims at linking up the Caspian Sea region with the European market through Turkey, bypassing Russia. They emphasised that, “the offer of Central Asian producers to link up to the Southern Gas Corridor is as valid as ever” and would definitively dispel any remaining doubts regarding the Nabucco gas pipeline.
In several areas their declaration suggests that they intend to increase future co-operation with regard to the extraction of shale gas, a subject that has created much controversy in Europe. They emphasised the “profound impact” that the development of shale gas in the US was having on the global gas market and that the Europeans and Americans would continue to exchange information on best practices and regulatory requirements in a framework established by the International Energy Agency, as well as continuing the dialogue. This dialogue also includes an international conference organised by the Commission in 2013 on the subject of shale gas.
The EU and US are seeking to push forward their cooperation in the fields of clean and sustainable energy technologies to a much more advanced stage, by pursuing joint R&D work and the exchange of researchers working in smart networks, energy storage, critical materials, nuclear fusion, hydrogen and fuel cell batteries. (EH/transl.fl)