Lessons to be drawn from the recent events in the oil field

Recommendation 643 (1971)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

See Doc. 2970, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 8 July 1971.

The Assembly,

1. Having regard to the vital need of obtaining the maximum possible degree of security in so far as Western Europe's supplies of energy are concerned ;

2. Conscious of the key role played by imported oil in the satisfaction of Western Europe's energy needs ;

3. Believing that, in this latter context of imported oil supplies, maximum security must be looked for on two bases :

a the maintenance of good and confident political and economic relations between consumer and producer States, including assisting the latter in the more general development of their economies ; and specifically

b diversification of the potential sources of supply ;

4. Conscious, however, that to be meaningful such diversification necessitates the availability of sufficient reserve tanker tonnage to enable alternative sources of supply to be effectively drawn upon in the event of the interruption of supplies from some given oil producing area, as well as the maintenance of substantial oil stocks in consumer countries not only as a general insurance against the cessation of supplies from a given source, but also to cover the period during which tankers etc., are being switched to take advantage of alternative routes and/or sources of supply,

5. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers invite member governments :

a to urgently re-examine the level of oil stocks in Western Europe, with a view to securing an early increase in the agreed minimum levels of those stocks ;

b to urgently examine, in consultation with the major international oil companies, how the maintenance of the reserve tanker tonnage referred to in paragraph 4 above can best be ensured.