CLH head office hosts the International Energy Agency’s presentation of its latest Energy Supply Security report

• The presentation was held in the context of the Summer Seminar 2014 organised by FUNSEAM

The International Energy Agency (IEA) presented its "Policies and practices for counteracting oil and gas supply problems in member countries" report today during the Summer Seminar 2014, that was organised by Fundación para la Sostenibilidad Energética y Ambiental (FUNSEAM) (Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability) and held at the head offices of the CLH Group.

The energy security analyst at the IEA's Emergency Policy Division, Cuauhtémoc López-Bassols, gave the main presentation in which he explained the security stock policy promoted by this agency ever since it was created 40 years ago, its aim being "to be able to provide a quick collective response in the event of sudden disruptions in supply".

Regarding our country's energy policy, Mr. López-Bassols highlighted that "the IEA holds the Spanish oil and gas system in very high regard".

In this respect, the IEA report emphasises that Spain has an “efficient and flexible” oil product model, “where transport and storage services are integrated, making products available in any of its storage facilities”.

This agency also defines the Spanish pipeline network as an open system in which "third-party access is guaranteed to both logistic and storage facilities by means of a negotiated procedure which has non-discriminatory, transparent and objective technical and economic conditions; in addition, the prices charged must be made public”.

This year the report also  includes a chapter devoted to natural gas that mentions the plurality of players that participate in guaranteeing supply security in Spain, such as Enagás, CORES and the Ministry of Industry, also mentioning that it has been designed so as to be "highly flexible".

The event was inaugurated by the chairman of the CLH Group, José Luis López de Silanes, who stressed the importance of having common energy policies and maintaining the appropriate strategic reserves: "These reserves give great peace of mind when it comes to guaranteeing supply in the event of unforeseen circumstances, but we also need to have a sound logistics system that enables them to be managed efficiently, such as the one Enagás and CLH provide in their respective sectors in our country".

Also participating in this meeting were: the director of the Chair of Energy Sustainability at Barcelona University, Maite Costa, who presented the seminar and acted as moderator in the debate that was held after the presentation; as well as the chairman of CORES and the IEA's SEQ Committee (Standing Group on Emergency Questions), Pedro Miras, who closed the meeting. During his speech, the chairman of CORES emphasised that the Spanish energy policy is a reference for the IEA, and stressed the effectiveness of the Spanish system for managing strategic reserves.

The Foundation for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (FUNSEAM) is a non-profit organisation that was created in 2011, promoted by the CLH Group and other Spanish companies in the sector, with the aim of researching into new forms of energy that are more environmentally-friendly. The organisation publishes studies and reports on a regular basis, organises discussion forums and, in association with the University of Barcelona, has created a Chair of Energy Sustainability.