Finance minister opens international oil summit

Speaking during the fifth World Fuel Oil Summit finance minister Tonio Fenech expressed his gratitude to the organisers for choosing Malta again to host the summit, which brings together leading fuel oil traders, market analysts and banking executives.

"Malta offers an interesting case study in energy generation," Fenech told the participants who are in Malta to discuss commodity pricing, risk management bunker fuel and the Asian and Chinese fuel oil markets.

"Energy wise we have made important investments, primarily the extension of the Delimara power  plant, with the aim of reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions," the minister said.

He explained that the plant is fuel neutral as it can run on both oil and gasoil with the possibility of converting it to a gas plant. Fenech said gas is a "long term target for the government" and added that Malta is in talks with Qatar in order to seek a provider of the natural resource.

The generation of energy through renewable resources was only briefly mentioned by Fenech in his address. He said the government is embarking on a "significant drive to increase the use of alternative energy," without going into much detail.

Fenech mentioned the electricity interconnector which will link Malta to Sicily in order to connect the country with the mainland European electricity grid. He said this will ensure that Malta is "no longer isolated safeguarding the supply of energy and the country's security."

 Fenech explained that oil prices on the international market kept rising in recent years due to a number of reasons, including the developments in Iran, Iraq and Nigeria. He added that during the last few years oil prices remained high and this resulted in sluggish growth and unemployment in Europe.

Fenech underlined the importance of undertaking initiatives to encourage economic growth in both Malta and Europe.

The summit, organised by a leading consulting and cargo brokerage firm, Axelrod Energy Projects, examined the trends and opportunities in the fuel oil and bunker market. The summit also discussed the use of fuel oil in the generation of electricity in the Mediterranean region. Representatives of energy providers from Malta, Greece and Cyprus were among the participants.