§ Mr. Andrew MacKayasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the meeting in Paris on 9 July of the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency at ministerial level.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithThe governing board of the International Energy Agency met at ministerial level in Paris on Tuesday 9 July under the chairmanship of Dr. Van550W Aardenne of the Netherlands. I represented the United Kingdom. Copies of the cornmunique are available in the Libraries of the House.
IEA Ministers reaffirmed their belief that a risk of renewed dependence on oil could arise in the 1990s with a projected tightening of the world energy supply/demand situation. They welcomed the structural adjustments of the past decade and stressed the need to maintain progress towards the more efficient use of energy and enhanced collaboration in research and development.
New refineries in countries outside the IEA (particularly in the Middle East and North Africa) will be adding to the world supply of refined products over the next few years. Ministers took the view that it should be possible for these additional quantities to find markets without causing disruption, provided the impact was not concentrated in particular regions. They therefore agreed on a common approach to maintain or create conditions to permit this. The IEA will continue to monitor developments in this area.