Today and tomorrow the Ministry for Energy and Health will be hosting an energy conference here in Malta, discussing the potential for the development of the energy sector in the Mediterranean. Europe’s energy policy was discussed in an open editorial in last week’s The Malta Business Weekly, and it is clear that the European Union is playing catch-up, desperately trying to create for itself an energy strategy, importing, as it does, almost 90% of its crude oil requirements and 66% of its natural gas needs.

While the EU has done much to create a functional (if imperfect) market in energy across the continent, helping to drive down prices through competition, as was pointed out last week, Europe also needs to speak with a single voce when negotiating with energy suppliers, to ensure that it negotiates from a position of strength.

It would also make sense for Europe to start seeing the benefits of using hydraulic fracking to release the large quantity of gas held in mainland Europe’s rocks. However there are two other areas of interest that offer particular opportunities to Malta and these are: the oil and gas potential of the Mediterranean, and the countries of North Africa; and the renewable energy opportunities that could be exploited in northern Africa, such as farms of photovoltaic cells, or solar thermal energy.

While a note of caution should be sounded for all of these options: hydrocarbon exploration of the Mediterranean still needs to be completed and significant reserves have still to be found around Malta; and the political stability of many north Africa countries is still not conducive to wide-scale capital investment. None-the-less, the possible upside for Malta is so significant that it is important that Malta, through initiatives such as this energy conference, ensures that it is a player in the Mediterranean energy sector.