Russia gets no consensus on path to energy security

MOSCOW, March 13 (Reuters) - Russia's drive to tackle global energy security produced ideas from nuclear power to clean fuels at a conference on Monday but agreement on one point only: we're all going to use a lot more energy in the future.

Russia called the conference as a prelude to the first ever meeting of G8 energy ministers in Moscow on Thursday, with "energy security" the key theme of President Vladimir Putin's chairmanship of the group of eight industrialised countries.

"Energy security means a stable system of legal, political and economic relations which enables an efficient world energy system and removes and compensates for negative factors and ensure reliable demand and stable supply," Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko told the conference.

Khristenko cited International Energy Agency figures showing the world would need to invest $17 trillion by 2030 to meet projected energy needs, mostly in production and refining.

He said the world would need to make a technological leap during the first quarter of this century to develop new sources of "clean" energy as well as wider and more efficient use of existing technology such as hydroelectricity and nuclear power.

Russia's own reputation as a reliable energy supplier was blighted at the start of this year when gas monopoly Gazprom briefly cut off supplies to Europe during a pricing dispute with Ukraine, through which Russian gas goes to Europe.

The gas shock helped put nuclear power back on the agenda in Europe, despite fierce opposition from green groups and a row over Iran's plans to use nuclear power, which the United States says is a thinly veiled attempt to gain nuclear weapons.

NUCLEAR OPTION

Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia's Atomic Energy Agency, which plans to build 40 new nuclear plants in Russia by 2030, told the conference that the nuclear option was unavoidable.

"If the structure (of the world economy) does not change by 2030, we will have to discover seven or eight deposits the size of Saudi Arabia. It's a similar story with gas. The only other source of hydrocarbons is coal, but there's not enough.

"We will face the situation when developing countries want nuclear power. The international community will have to make a choice of principle. The situation with Iran is not the last one. We will face the same situation again and again."

Executives from oil firms hoping to expand their businesses in Russia pointed to Russia's huge untapped potential and said easier access to projects in the world's biggest country would help fill the gap between supply and demand.

Menno Grouvel, head of exploration and production in Russia and Central Asia for French major Total , said most of the world's oil required investment of around $5-7 per barrel, while in Russia the figure was $1.7, implying room for more.

But he said there was also a need to reduce consumption, a thought echoed by Zhang Guobao, deputy minister for China's top economic planning body.

"There are two sides to every coin," Zhang said.

Zhang said China wanted to keep energy consumption growth at least 20 percent slower than overall growth in its booming economy until the end of the decade, and it would try to resist the need to import more oil this year.

Unlike China, the United States, which is often criticised for burning too much fuel, said the solution lay in using open markets to overcome the economic problems.

"Opportunities are lost when governments fail to welcome private capital," said David Sampson, U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary.


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