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Cablegate: Turkey - Iea and Energy Diplomacy

Published: Thu 16 Dec 2004 07:54 AM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS ANKARA 006981
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
PARIS FOR USOECD
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EPET TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY - IEA AND ENERGY DIPLOMACY
REF: A. STATE 223844
B. PARIS 8678
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
1. (SBU) Energy Officer raised ref A energy diplomacy issues
with Sami Demirbilek, Energy Ministry UnderSecretary and
Turkey's International Energy Agency (IEA) Governing Board
representative. Demirbilek emphasized the importance Turkey
gave to meeting its 90-day strategic stocks obligation to the
IEA and fully supported encouraging countries to increase
strategic stocks and improve data quality. He said the IEA
had just completed its in-depth country review of Turkey. He
expected the report to come out in early 2005 and to describe
Turkey's energy policies as positive. (Turkey is in
compliance with its IEA stock-holding requirements, but it is
at risk for non-compliance because of growing imports -- see
ref B.) Demirbilek said his Ministry was working with the
Turkish Energy Regulatory Body to put in place a consumer
price component to help refiners and distributors finance and
maintain adequate stocks.
2. (SBU) Demirbilek said that he fully supported
IEA-sponsored producer-consumer dialogue. He put particular
importance on dialogue with and efforts to increase oil
production in Russia and Iraq. Demirbilek stressed the
willingness and capacity of TPAO (Turkish state oil firm) and
private Turkish firms to play a role in oil sector
reconstruction and development in northern Iraq. When asked
if the GOT made specific demarches to Saudi Arabia and other
major OPEC producers on supplying adequate oil to world
markets, he admitted that he was not aware of bilateral
demarches.
3. (SBU) Demirbilek said he had been unable to attend the
December IEA Governing Board. He said that he worked closely
with the Turkish mission to the OECD in Paris to cover the
IEA portfolio.
EDELMAN
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