2005 - OPEC

The meeting concluded by identifying themes for enhancing cooperation, in the mutual inter-
est of both parties, such as:
Oil market developments, both short and medium-to-long terms;
Energy policies;
Energy technologies, such as carbon capture and storage; and
Energy-related multilateral issues.
It was agreed that discussions on these themes would be developed through workshops and
other meetings that could include, where appropriate, other multilateral organisations, recog-
nising the importance of their work and the need to avoid unnecessary duplication. The first
joint roundtable was held in November 2005, where recent oil market developments and
future prospects were addressed. At the 2nd Ministerial Meeting in December, the participants
welcomed the constructive nature of the exchange of views and information, and discussions
at the first joint roundtable which also identified areas of mutual interest for further reflection,
namely the refining sector and financial markets.
The EU-OPEC Energy Dialogue’s work programme for 2006 was discussed, in particular the
preparations for a meeting on energy technologies, with a particular focus on carbon capture
and storage in conjunction with enhanced oil recovery, as well as a second roundtable on the
impact of energy policies on both demand and supply. In order to enhance cooperation on
technology, the participants explored the possibility of establishing an EU-OPEC Technology
Centre. They also took note of the efforts being made to develop the European Commission’s
internal energy market observation system and, in this regard, agreed to explore further pos-
sibilities for cooperation.
The participants noted the publication by OPEC and other producers of information about
their upstream and downstream investment plans. This was welcomed as a further means
of contributing to market stability, as it would provide greater clarity in the demand out-
look. They also acknowledged that actions on the part of both the EU, through the strong
support for the emergency oil stocks release within the International Energy Agency (IEA)
mechanism, and OPEC, by making available to the market its spare capacity of around two
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