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Briefing item
Facing up to the challenges of shrinking oil reserves - nuclear power?
Energy - 12-02-2009 - 18:33
Oil is a finite resource, and yet, according to the US Energy Information Administration, worldwide demand for oil will be more than a third higher in 2030 than it was in 2006. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, in its report drafted by Herbert REUL (EPP-ED, DE), tackles the EU's reliance on oil imports, international co-operation, price hikes and renewable energy, suggesting a shift to more carbon-neutral solutions, such as nuclear energy.
The European Union's dependence on oil imports will rise to 95% by 2030, says the report, and conventional oil reserves will be increasingly concentrated in "countries in the strategic ellipse". The Committee regrets that "the Commission has not learnt lessons from the economic crisis".
"Only a complete shift in EU energy policy will lead to a solution as regards security of supply, solidarity among Member States and employment, and in social, environmental and economic terms," MEPs say. They also express their regret at the lack "of a clear commitment to further change in energy policy and structure".
Sufficient oil for coming decades
According to the various estimates, it will still be possible to extract sufficient oil to meet demand in the coming decades, says the report, "even though consumers may have to pay a higher price for it".
Noting the exclusion of oil pipelines from the trans-European energy networks (TEN-E), MEPs call on the Member States and the Commission to consider including oil infrastructure in the TEN-E in view of current developments. They also emphasise that new oil infrastructure projects such as the Odessa-Gdansk and Constanța-Trieste pipelines should continue to be "high-priority projects of European interest".
Arctic potential
MEPs call both for "an intensification of efforts to make unconventional oil resources commercially viable" and for environmentally friendly extraction processes to be developed.
They point to the "importance of the Arctic region as an oil-producing area", which is thought to contain up to a quarter of undiscovered reserves worldwide, and note that in the interests of overall international stability, there needs to be an "equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic".
The report goes on to say that "the extraction of existing resources is increasingly hampered by political factors". MEPs call on the Commission to step up the dialogue with producing countries at all levels and to seek "pragmatic solutions" to disputes in the interests of both parties. They also urge the EU and Member States to take steps to secure a "binding, progressive and all-encompassing Treaty basis for the common European energy supply and security".
High price to pay
Turning to the price of oil, MEPs consider that the main reason for the oil price rise in the past eight years lies with a strong growth in demand that has led to bottlenecks in the extraction, transport and refining of oil and to large windfall profits made by a few big oil oligopolies. Monitoring of competition in the processing and sale of oil and petroleum products is a priority, while improving market transparency is vital, say MEPs.
More investment in other energy sources including nuclear power
However, when and to what extent a "gap will develop between mounting demand and falling supply" is uncertain. Therefore, "all measures that could reduce demand for fossil fuel energy should be vigorously pursued". MEPs believe that the use of oil and other carbon-intensive energy sources should be reduced through "increased energy efficiency and by a shift to more carbon-neutral solutions, such as nuclear energy and energy derived from renewable resources".
They express their doubts regarding the "medium- and long-term suitability of first-generation biofuels as a substitute for oil", calling for increased efforts in researching synthetic fuels", and for more financial support from Member States for investments in alternative energy sources.
Herbert REUL (EPP-ED, DE)Rapporteur :
Facing oil challenges
Procedure : own-initiative
Debate : 18.02.2009
