ENERGY SECURITY AND THE GEOPOLITICS OF ENERGY, Friday, 21st November 2008, 8.30-17.30, Hilton Park, Nicosia

The precipitous rise in the international price of oil from around $30/barrel in March 2003 to nearly $110/barrel five years later and the continuous supply crises, which have been bedeviling the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine (January 2006, March 2008) and Belarus (January 2007), indicate that the international energy security system is reaching an important turning point. The European Union, Russia and the U.S. seem to be entangled within a partly cooperative partly confrontational relationship over the security and reliability of European energy imports.

On a regional basis the situation is no less important if we were to take under consideration: (i) the operation of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus Pipeline, (ii) the establishment of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline consortium in January 2008, (iii) the near simultaneous establishment of the Russian-Bulgarian-Italian consortium that will construct the South Stream pipeline and (iv) the potential emergence of Cyprus as an oil producer.

How is one to analyze this perplexed situation? How does the regional and European context interrelate with global energy developments? What is the strategic significance of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin for European and Russian energy policies? Is Cyprus capable of playing an important role in the Europe-Asian energy corridor not only as a transit but also a producing state and how would this affect the regional balance of power?

For further information please contact Anna Papasavva,
papasavva@daedalosinstitute.org , +357 22875087, +357 99511436.

Program (PDF format)

PROGRAM

NOVEMBER 21st 08.30-17.30, Hilton Park Nicosia

8.30 Registration of participants

9.00 Opening Ceremony

Opening Remarks: Michalis Attalides, Rector of the University of Nicosia, President of Daedalos Institute for Geopolitics

Opening Address: Antonis Paschalides, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus

Keynote Address: Rachid Boularas, Senior Energy Analyst, International Energy Forum, Riyadh, “Global Dialogue for Global Energy Security, the role of the IEF”

9.45 Coffee Break

10.00 Session A: The International Agenda on Energy and Security

Chair: Michalis Sarris, former Minister of Finance, Republic of Cyprus

• “U.S. Energy Policy in the Middle East”
Robert Ebel, Senior Adviser, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC

• “Russian Energy Policy”
Michail Kyriakidis, Analyst, Centre for International Energy Markets Studies, Energy Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences

• “The Impact of the Credit Crunch on Energy Project Financing”
Melanie Lovatt, Finance Editor, Middle East Economic Survey

• “Traditional and alternative energy sources”
Rachid Azouz, Engineer, Director General, Tunisia

Discussion

11.45 Coffee Break

12.00 Session B: The Wider Regional View (Europe, Middle East, Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea)

Chair: Gary Lakes, Regional Editor MEES

• “The Georgia-Russia standoff and the future of Caspian and Central Asian Energy Supplies”
Dr Shamil Midkhatovich Yenikeyeff, Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Senior Associate Member, Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre, University of Oxford

• “Energy security and the importance of EU - Russia energy relations”
Constantinos Maniatopoulos, Chairman of IENE (Institute of Energy for South East Europe), Greece

• “Lisbon, Kyoto, Moscow: do all roads lead to Brussels? Τhe developments of new energy policies in an operator's perspective”
Marco Margheri, Edison S.p.A, Head of EU Liaison Office, Brussels

• “Obstacles for an EU-Iranian Energy Partnership”
Clement Therme, Research fellow, IFRI (Institut français des relations internationales)

• “De-Nationalization / The Return of Major Oil Companies to Iraq”
Issam Al-Chalabi, former Iraqi Oil Minister

Discussion

13.45 Lunch Break

15.00 Session C: Cyprus and the Greater Southeastern Mediterranean Basin

Chair: Christodoulos Yiallourides, Professor of International Politics, Panteion University, Athens, President of the Scientific Board, Defense Analysis Institute, Member of the Board of Directors of Daedalos Institute of Geopolitics

Keynote Address: Solon Kasinis, Director of Energy Service, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus

• “Energy Geopolitics from the Caspian Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean”
Michel Algrin, Attorney at Law, PhD

• “Meeting the gas supply challenges in SE Europe and Eastern Mediterranean. Perspectives, uncertainties and implications for the wider area”
Spyros Paleoyannis, Senior Officer, DEPA (Hellenic Public Gas Company), Deputy Chairman of IENE, Greece

• “The Strategic Importance of Greek Pipelines”
Emmanouil Karagiannis, Lecturer, Department of International and European Economic and Political Studies, University of Macedonia

• “Energy and Foreign Policy”
Stavros Epaminondas, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Cyprus

• “The Prospects and the Problems of Oil Exploration in Cyprus”
Panos Papanastasiou, Professor (Head), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus