Research
Security of energy supply and geopolitics
The Middle East
Increasing political tension in several OPEC member countries are a source of continued unrest for the international oil market. As long as the situation in Iraq remains uncertain with regard to the intensity and length of the current unstable situation, oil prices are not likely to stabilise at more sustainable levels. Furthermore, in the coming years, certain OPEC countries will develop into major gas producers on the international market, which may further complicate OPEC's efforts to formulate an oil policy.
In September 2004, a Middle East study group was established and currently meets every two months. The first concrete research output from this group is expected in 2005. The output is intended to be comparable to that of the electricity and gas research groups.