Toespraak van minister Kamp bij het Gas Exporting Countries Forum

Toespraak | 23-11-2015

President Ruhani, Mr Zanganeh,

Thank you for organising this conference, and for your warm words of welcome. With me in Iran, in this clean and green city of Teheran, is a delegation representing several Dutch energy companies. And I know I speak for them all when I say how impressed we are by your country’s rich culture and its enormous potential. Your population is young, ambitious and well-educated. Businesses are on the brink of great innovations. And your oil and gas reserves are among the biggest in the world. Iran could be a major 21st-century energy supplier for the region and beyond.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The world's leading gas producing and exporting countries are gathered here today. Together, we control around 70 per cent of the global reserves of conventional natural gas, and nearly half of all pipeline gas trade.

And the outlook for us is good: demand for gas is on the rise worldwide. A few years ago, the IEA predicted that a 'golden age of gas' was coming. And this year's IEA's Energy Outlook reaffirms that trend. Countries are becoming more concerned about global warming caused by burning fossil fuels. We expect the climate conference in Paris will result in new commitments on emissions reduction, making natural gas even more attractive for many countries. Because gas has the lowest environmental impact of all fossil fuels.

Demand for gas is growing. But so is supply. Regional markets have become interconnected. These days, gas is a global commodity. Were seeing more gas-to-gas competition on free markets. Slowly but surely, the practice of linking gas and oil prices is disappearing. This could make gas more competitive compared with other fossil fuels. And there are new parties on the market, offering unconventional gas. LNG from Australia and Malaysia, for instance, can now compete with European gas on European markets.

We all know that changing policy on climate change is making the energy investment climate uncertain. This makes it more important than ever to create a stable, free and transparent gas market. The GECF could play a role in establishing that market. By offering a platform for gas-exporting countries to share information, knowledge and expertise, and plan joint investments in infrastructure and technology. So, through the GECF, as well as careful domestic policy, gas exporting countries could promote wise use of natural gas’s potential. Let me tell you how the Netherlands sees this.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The history of natural gas in my country goes back half a century. In 1959 we discovered an enormous natural gas field of more than 3000 billion cubic meters in the north of the Netherlands. We wasted no time in building the infrastructure to drill for gas and transport it, both for domestic use and for export. In order to offer producers investment security and consumers reasonable prices, we were the first to link gas prices to the price of oil.

Some time in the next ten years, however, we will stop being a net exporter and become a net importer. After 56 years, gas production is slowly on the decline.

Nevertheless, the Netherlands is still aplayer in the world of natural gas. Domestically, gas will remain a valuable source of energy, at least until we make the transition to a fully sustainable energy supply by 2050. There's still a lot of gas in our big northern field, and in smaller fields – both onshore and offshore. At this moment 98 per cent of our population uses gas for cooking or heating their homes. And our large-scale energy-intensive industry also benefits from our reserves of gas.

Internationally, the Netherlands is an important gas hub in Northwest Europe. We have excellent gas infrastructure and gas storage facilities. A well-functioning gas market. And a strategic maritime port of Rotterdam for importing, storing and transshipment of gas.

The Netherlands' extensive gas sector is made up of companies and knowledge institutions that operate around the world. Shell, a world-class player in gas extraction, also carries out pioneering activities in operating the world's biggest gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar. Offshore expert Heerema Group builds and installs supporting structures for offshore platforms. And the Allseas Group has had the world’s biggest vessel built in Korea. The company will use it to install large offshore platforms and lay subsea pipelines around the world. But that’s not all. The Netherlands has 600 large and small businesses involved at all levels of the gas chain. From exploration, production and transport, to professional training and research and development.

The Dutch government, companies and research institutions are working together to consolidate their leading knowledge position. A large-scale trial in carbon capture, transport and reuse is currently being carried out near Rotterdam, for example. Collaborations like these will lead to innovations that will enable us to adapt natural gas use to future requirements.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Netherlands would like to bolster international R&D cooperation in the natural gas sector. So we're keen to join forces with other exporting countries. Countries like our host the Islamic Republic of Iran. I hope the GECF will continue to grow into a transparent and professional platform, for sharing knowledge, boosting investment and promoting a well-functioning market. Only then will we tap the full potential of gas in a sustainable manner.

Thank you for your attention.