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COUNTRY PROFILES
Introduction
The 7 Mediterranean Countries region (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan,
Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia) is an economically
diverse region that includes both oil-rich economies and countries
that are resource-scarce in relation to population. Most of
the countries in the region share a common cultural background.
The main challenge for local economies in the coming future
will be the achievement of sufficient economic growth in order
to confront with the demographic growth. The region's economic
fortunes over much of the past quarter century have been heavily
influenced by two factors - the price of oil, and a legacy
of economic policies and structures that had emphasized a
leading role for the state.
Beginning in the late 1980s, many of the region’s economies
were committed to far-reaching economic reforms to restore
macroeconomic balances and promote private sector-led development.
As a result, the late 1990s saw improvements, which are further
continued in this decade. Despite the improved performance,
the region continues to face important economic and social
challenges. Unemployment rates average close to 20% regionally
and the public sector's share of the region's economy is one
of the higher in the world. Several countries remain extremely
vulnerable to weather and commodity price shocks due to their
limited economic resource base. Basic infrastructure and services
vital for private sector growth remain inadequate, and integration
with the global economy lags behind that of other developing
economies.
The seven Mediterranean Countries region is a significant
net exporter, with its energy production well in excess of
consumption. The energy projections for the seven Mediterranean
Countries show the significant growth of energy demand. Based
on the currently proven reserves of oil and gas it seems that
the region may no longer be a significant net exporter by
2020. Major exploration activities could reverse this trend
since significant potential reserves could be realised. Moreover,
the region has a significant RES potential which will be exploited
substantially (hydro plants, wind plants, solar systems and
geothermal energy). [1]
The geographical proximity between the European Union (EU)
and the seven Mediterranean Countries, as well as the cumulative
volume of hydrocarbon reserves and the expected rapid energy
demand increase of seven Mediterranean Countries spotlight
the importance of the collaboration between EU and seven Mediterranean
Countries, especially in terms of energy supplies, energy
transit and know-how and technology transfer. The EU is highly
dependent on external energy supplies. It currently imports
approximately 50% of its requirements, while the seven Mediterranean
Countries region provides almost 16% of the European gas needs.
The way in which energy is transported is of fundamental importance
for the security of supply. Strengthening the rules and regulations
on ships/maritime oil transportation and tanker traffic in
harmonization with the EU standards and shifting the emphasis
towards oil pipelines is of major importance, taking into
account the great risk that maritime transport of oil poses
for environmental protection. Concerning electricity interconnections,
emphasis should be given for better infrastructure between
the networks of each Mediterranean Country. Furthermore, due
consideration should be assigned to concluding the loop of
Mediterranean Ring. In this regard, priority should be consigned
to the related interconnections via EU assistance through
TEN programme.
Long-term supply contracts play a fundamental role in the
development of the energy market and in particular of the
gas market. They are essential for the launch of major investment
projects for the development of gas fields and long distance
infrastructure projects. As regards consumer countries, these
contracts provide an element of stability for their purchases.
The energy sector of seven Mediterranean Countries is generally
characterised by an important role of the State due to the
level of social and economic development. This role should
be reviewed in order to accelerate foreign direct investment
in the energy infrastructure projects, which is crucial in
order to increase the production capacities needed to satisfy
the growing demand for energy, particularly in the electricity
and the gas sector. The seven Mediterranean Countries region
shall engage or accelerate structural reforms in order to
meet the requirements of competitive markets, leading to the
creation of an appropriate framework that can meet the international
investment criteria as well as to make the Euro-Mediterranean
FTA a reality by 2010. [2]
Energy intensity of seven Mediterranean Countries as a whole
is considered to be high – more than double compared to EU.
Most of these countries face significant problems regarding
technical and non-technical energy losses. The public awareness
regarding energy efficiency and rational use of energy is
low, though those seven Mediterranean Countries have recently
put forward mechanisms for the promotion of them. Considering
the rapid expected increase in energy demand during the forthcoming
years, considerable effort should be placed in the adoption
of energy efficiency measures both in terms of increasing
the efficiency of the energy companies as well as in terms
of demand side management in the residential, tertiary, industrial
and transportation sectors. In particular, due attention should
be paid in the rational use of energy in buildings, household
equipment and the transport sector. [3]
The indigenous renewable energy production of a country, besides
the positive impacts on the security of energy supply, has
obvious benefits concerning environmental protection. Therefore,
it is also in the environmental area that the Euro-Mediterranean
Energy Cooperation has the potential to make an important
contribution. Either through joint R&D and technology
programmes, financial assistance or private investments, EU
can support the improvement of the region’s energy efficiency,
promote clean coal technologies and/or contribute to the development
of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power
where the seven Mediterranean Countries have a great potential
still unexploited, as well as hydro and geothermal in specific
cases. Technology transfer will also help security of supply
by improving access to resources through the use of enhanced
oil recovery techniques, for example, and by contributing
to the diversity of fuel availability. [2]
The objective of this document is to present an overview of
the national energy policy issues of the seven Mediterranean
Countries. The document is structured along 5 parts, as follows:
- The second part is devoted to the review of the regional
energy analysis of the seven Mediterranean Countries.
- The third part presents the national energy analysis of
each of these Mediterranean Countries.
- The fourth part summaries the main conclusions derived
by the above analysis.
- Finally, Annex presents graphically
the energy projections of each country.
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