financial market dialogue, Ministers commended the work by the three Organizations and encouraged them to take this important work forward in future regular meetings that facilitate the horizontal dialogue between the physical and financial energy market players. The IEA, IEF and OPEC held their first Symposium on Energy Outlooks in Riyadh on 24 January 2011. The objective was not to align the Organizations assumptions and outlooks, but to improve clarity and understanding of the various outlooks. The Symposium offered a platform for sharing insights and exchanging views about energy market trends and short-, medium- and long-term energy outlooks, including analysis of market behavior and discussion of the key drivers of the energy scene along with the associated uncertainties. The meeting provided a diversity of well-informed views from distinguished experts. Participants discussed energy market trends (energy supply, demand and prices) and associated factors that influence these trends (environmental policies, economic conditions, and technological development. The meeting identified the main convergences and differences between the IEA's and OPEC's outlooks and discussed the reasons behind these differences, such as those related to definitions, methodologies, and the presentation of results. The Symposium noted that both the IEA and OPEC's projections were similar in terms of supply/demand growth figures for 2011. This paints a market situation in 2011 characterized by a high level of spare capacity, in both upstream and downstream; relatively high OECD commercial inventories, an expected slowdown in oil demand growth compared to 2010, and increases in oil supply. There was a consensus that oil will likely remain the main fuel in satisfying the world's energy needs for the foreseeable future, and that oil resources, both conventional and non-conventional, are sufficient to meet future demand. However, the symposium noted that there are considerable uncertainties concerning how future demand will evolve, in particular with regard to energy and environmental policies. Other key uncertainties relate to economic growth and technological change. --More
