COUNTRIES IN EASTERN EUROPE POISED TO ENTER IEA FOLD
The International Energy Agency's secretariat has the go ahead from its governing board to help East European countries cope with their energy related problems.
Mrs. Helga Steeg, IEA executive director, said the organization did not volunteer for contacts with the East. It was approached by countries that want help-Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, as well as the Soviet Union. No moves have been made by Romania and Bulgaria.
East Germany is seen as a separate case because of its reunification with West Germany.
"We still have to deal with East Germany following the reunification process," Steeg said. "By and large, its membership in IEA would be automatic. But there are a number of points that would have to be cleared such as contributions and voting rights."
IEA's immediate assignment is a reconnaissance of Poland's energy situation. An IEA delegation went to Poland last month to gather data on energy efficiency, electrical power production, and individual energy sources.
The team will produce a national review that could be included in an updated version of IEA's World Energy Outlook to 2005, first published in June 1989.
Quincy Lumsden, director of IEA's oil industry division and leader of the mission to Poland, cited difficulty in comparing definitions and statistical data.
"They start from different bases, when they exist at all, and need to be adjusted." he said.
In addition to cooperation and an exchange of energy experiences, IEA wants to include in its monthly oil market reports more specific data on the Soviet Union and eliminate the "centrally planned economies" section, merging these countries into the rest of the listed nations.
"These things take time," Lumsden said, "but the IEA now has very good, reliable contacts in official circles in the countries approached, and there is no reticence about supplying information in the case of the Soviet Union."
Steeg said East Europeans are very open about criticizing themselves, and they are determined to improve their energy economies.
The IEA has no specific budget for its dealings with these countries.
But money is not a problem this year, and next year the agency will see what structure can be set up for the purpose.
Copyright 1990 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.