40 Years Ago Norway Discovered Oil

40 år siden fant Norge olje! 40 ans depuis la découverte du pétrole en Norvège!

Hereafter follows a list of articles remembering the event:

• Website dedicated to the historic day (by The Norwegian Oil Industry Association, OLF): www.oljenorge40aar.no
• I år er det 40 år siden Norge ble oljenasjon, OLF.
• Ekofisk Industrial Heritage website: Kulturminne Ekofisk.
• Lille julaften 1969 forandret livene våre, DagensNærningsliv.
• Olje-Norge 40 År, Statoil.

The Legacy of a Two Year Long Negotiation Process: The Copenhagen Accord

Here is the text of the Copenhagen Accord , the potical agreement countries agreed upon and of which the Conference of the Parties "took note".

Some official comments all agreeing on the fact that the Copenhagen Accord represents a first step:

• UNFCCC Press Release, 19.12.2009. "We now have a package to work with and begin immediate action. However, we need to be clear that it is a letter of intent and is not precise about what needs to be done in legal terms. So the challenge is now to turn what we have agreed politically in Copenhagen into soemthing real, measurable and verifiable" said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer.
• European Commission and Swedish Presidency of the EU, Cautious Step forward in Copenhagen (text as of 19 December) and press conference video. "Let us speak plainly, I would have liked more. This will not solve the threat of climate change, but it is a first step, an important step" Swedish Prime Minister Reinfeldt. And similarly, President Barroso said: "This agreement is better than none at all, but it is clearly below our objective.... But it is a first step in a very important process."
• The US White House Blog page on the Copenhagen summit, with full texts of President Obama, A Breakthrough in Copenhagen. "We need more work, more confidence building between emerging economies, the least developed countries and developed coutnries before another legally binding treaty can be signed" he said.

Will Shell and its Subsidiary Be Trialed in The Netherlands for Pipeline Leak in Nigeria?

This is the question currently at stake before a Dutch civil tribunal in The Hague. The case relates to a leak from an oil pipeline that occurred in 2005 in Nigeria. It is brought jointly by Friends of the Earth Netherlands and representants from several Nigerian villages that claim reparation for economic losses (agricultural crops and fisheries) and environmental damages (water contamination and soil pollution). The cause of the leak is discussed, being a result of bad maintenance or a sabotage.
This case raises from fundamental legal issues regarding liability and territorial jurisdiction. In particular, the competence of the Dutch tribunal to judge the behaviour of a Shell's subsidiary abroad is at stake. There is also a related trial going on in Nigeria.
The Dutch tribunal is expected to take decision on its competence by the end of the year.

Small is Beautiful by Design: When Starck Rethinks Small Scale Windmills

On 8 December, Windeo signed a commercial agreement for the distribution in France and Benelux of the small scale windmill designed by Philippe Starck and manufactured by the Italian company PRAMAC. The small appliance is called "PRAMAC by Starck" and was presented at the Milan Design Week 2008: Green Energy Design.

It builds on the concept of "Democratic Ecology". Philippe Starck has been arguing for a long time for the democratisation of design, and now for the democratisation of renewable energy.

There will be two models available, from 400 to 1,000 W (1, 3 or 6 meter high). A first bench of the 1KW models were available for installation at so-called Clients Sites Pilotes on 8 December (EUR 7,500 before taxes). The picture above presents the 400W model.

Source: Press release, Windeo, 8 December 2009. Picture: PRAMAC.

ACER to Be Located in Ljubljana

Without any surprise, rumors have been confirmed and the seat of the newly created Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has been attributed to Ljubljana (Slovenia). Two other cities were in the run, namely Bucharest (Romania) and Bratislava (Slovakia) (the strongest of the other contestants). In its preparatory documents to the Energy Council of 6-7 December, the Commission expressed its preference for keeping the transitional seat of ACER (the first five year's term of the Director to start in June/July 2010) either in Brussels or Luxemburg. But the Presidency announces an entry into function in Ljubljana already for March 2011. The latter date is more probably the moment when ACER will function totally. Details of ACER objective and functions to come in a new message.

References: Press release from the Swedish Presidency, 7 December 2009; Press release from the European Commission; EUobserver article, 7 December 2009.

Legal text: Decision 2009/913/EU taken by common agreement between the representatives of the governments of Member States of 7 December 2009 on the location of the seat of ACER (OJ L 322 of 9.12.2009 p.39).

Grønn Garanti

Her finner dere et intervju skrevet av Mia Gill Kristiansen for websiden til det juridiske fakultetet om mitt forskningsprosjekt. Mia stilte meg følgende spørsmål: Kan handel med grønne sertifikater gjøre elektrisiteten mer miljøvennlig i Norge?

Commission Accepts GDF Suez Settlements in Gas Import Capacity Restrictions Case

Investigations started in May 2006, including on site at GDF premises in France, following the scrutiny exercise of the energy sector competition inquiry, without being related to it. The proceeding against GDF (at that time) was formally opened in May 2008.

European Commission suspected GDF Suez of abusing its dominant position and restricting access for competitors to the French supply gas market. In particular, the Commission claimed the existence of practice contrary to antitrust rules, i.e.: long-term reservation of transport capacity to most import infrastructures into France (pipelines and LNG terminals); network of import agreements; GDF Suez behaviour regarding investments and capacity allocation at two LNG import terminals in France.

The legal basis for the Commission's decision is Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (former Article 82 ECT) on abuse of a dominant position. During the investigation, infringement to Article 101 TFEU (former Article 81 ECT) was also considered.

Remedies proposed by GDF Suez and agreed upon by the Commission include:

• the immediate release of a large part of its long-term reservations of gas imports (10%, i.e. 7 billion cubic metres per year);
• the progressive release of remaining long-tern reservations until its share goes below 50% of these reservations by 1 October 2014, which leaves GDF Suez time to explore different alternatives (e.g., expansion of existing or construction of new import infrastructures);
• import capacity at infrastructures located at entry points on the other side of the French borders.

However, there was:

• no structural remedy. Unlike E.ON and RWE, GDF Suez is not constrained to sell any of its assets. "Unbundling would not have resolved the competition problem in this case" dixit Commission;
• no major alteration to GDF Suez proposed remedies which could alterate its public service obligations. The Commission is of the opinion that "there are also a number of other options available for GDF Suez to meet such obligations - including, for example, storage and booking of short term capacity";
• liberalisation of capacity but not at all entry points equally, because of the diverse use of pipelines/terminals. Fos Cavou LNG terminal is identified as one of the key entry points.

After the consultation of interested parties and the Commission's market test, the Commission has adopted a legally binding decision committing GDF Suez to implement the commitments agreed upon (so-called "commitment decision" under Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) 1/2003 on the implementation of EU Treaty's competition rules). Such decision terminates the procedure, although not taking position on the suspected existence of an infringement. However, in the situation where GDF Suez is not implementing the decision, it will face a fine of up to 10% of the total worldwide turnover of the utility.

In the words of Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, "the remedies offered by GDF Suez provide a real opportunity for competitors to enter the Frenc gas market and so offer energy consumers greater choice of gas supplier and more competitive prices."

There is currently another antitrust case pending. This concerns both GDF Suez and E.ON, which were accused of collusion by agreeing not to compete against each other on the French and German gas markets (market-sharing agreement). The Commission decided to fine both companies in July 2009, for EUR 1.1 billion. Companies have announced that they will appeal.

Reference: European Commission, MEMO/09/536, IP/09/1872, 3 December 2009.