ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (80)74
Vol.1980/0026

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Conformément aurèglement (CEE, Euratom) n°354/83 duConseil du1erfévrier 1983
concernant l'ouverture aupublic desarchives historiques delaCommunauté économique
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Inaccordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No354/83 of1February 1983
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amended byRegulation (EC, Euratom) No1700/2003 of22September 2003 (OJL243,
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InÜbereinstimmung mitderVerordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr.354/83 desRates vom 1.
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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(80)74 final
Brussels,21stFebruary1980
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COMMUNICATION FROMTHECOMMISSION TOTHECOUNCIL
ONTRANSPARENCY OFTHEOILMARKET
C0M(80)74final

Communication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil
onTransparency oftheOilMarket
1.TheTokyoSummitLastJuneunderlinedtheneedtoimprovetransparency of
theinternational oilmarketandclarifythesupplysituationforconsuming
countries.
1..22.Themeasuresadoptedorinpreparation bytheCommunityincollaboration
withotherindustrialised countrieswillprovidecompletehistorical
information ondevelopments,notablyimportpricesforcrudeoilsand
petroleumproductsandpricesatconsumerlevel.Asynthesisofavailable
informationispublishedeachweekintheformofanoilbulletin.
Analysisofthisinformation showsconsiderable divergencebetween
MemberStateconsumerprices.Thissituationisduetothedifferences
between(ortheabsenceofJ^pricepoliciesandthediffering,supplysituationsofoilcompanies.Commissionservicesarecontinuingto
examinethesituationtogetherwithexpertsfromMemberStates,andare
nowconsideringthepossibilities ofproducinganimprovedmethodforthe
presentation ofcompanyresults.
3.Withregardtothespotmarketforoilproducts,anexerciseisinoperation
(whichwillendon1June1980),which,throughthevoluntaryco-operation
ofmosttraders,providesa-betterunderstanding ofspotmarkets.A,note
ontheresultsfromthefirstsixmonthshasbeenpreparedbytheCommission
services.
Inthesamecontext,theCommissionhasestablished aworkingpartycomposed
ofrepresentative expertsfromtheindustrytostudythepossibilityof
introducing a"bourse"foroilproducts.Theresultsofthisstudywill
beavailablelater.
1■CouncilDirective76/491/EECof4May1976(Pricetransparency )
CouncilRegulation79/2592/EEC(CrudeOilRegister)
2DraftCouncilregulationLayingdowntherulesforcarryingoutthe
registration ofpetroleumimports-intheEuropeanCommunity .
TheCommissionwillanalysethecostsofimportedcrudeandconsumer
pricesin1979inasubsequentCommunication totheCouncil.

Muchoftheaboveinformation isavailableonlyafteraconsiderable delay
(about2months).Thisdelayisnecessarytoensuretheaccuracyofthe
information,howeveritpreventsuseofthedataasabasisfordiscussion
ofapproachestobeadoptedduringperiodsofmajormarkettensionlike
1979.Consequently ,additional complementary measuresmaybenecessary
toprovideamorelimitedvolumeofinformation onanaccelerated basis.
QuickResponseSystem v *
.i.>'
Oneofsuchcomplementary systemsisaQuickResponseSystem,thepurpose
ofwhichwouldbetoproviderapidinformation onpurchasesofcrudeoil ■
madeoutsidetheconditions oftermcontracts underabnormalcommercial
conditions oninternational level.
Suchinformation wouldincaseofmarkettensionsprovidethenecessary
understanding ofthegeneralevolutionofactivity,pricesandtrendsin
theworldspotmarketforcrudeoil.Thesystemshouldbeona"switch-on",
"switch-off"basis. * - ' '■
Formostmultinational companies,crudeoilispurchasedbyacentraltrading
companywhich,inmanycases,isregistered outsideEECjurisdiction .
Consequently ,acompulsory systemwouldbeimpracticable .However>there
islittledoubtthat,ifindustryisaskedtoreporthigh-price spotpurchases
onavoluntarybasis,theywilldoso.Avoluntarysystemunderlines,in
anycase,thenecessityforaparticipation ofallindustrialised countries.
Thisapproachhastheadvantageofbeinggenuinely"quick",sincepurchases
canbereportedtogovernments veryshortlyafteragreement betweenbuyers
andsellershasbeenreachedandthecargodestination hasbeendecided.
Itshouldalsobestressedthatcompanies knowonlytoowellwhena
purchaseisabnormalandreporting canbelefttotheirdistfretionwithout
theneedforwhatcouldberestrictive definitions .Tolimitadministrative
work,theinternational information-gathering couldeventually bedoneby
independent auditingfirms.1 . ■
AQRSontheabovebasisappearsfeasibleandtheCommunityshouldstart
discussion withotherindustrialised nationsandwithindustrytoverify
theassessmentthatcompanieswouldagreetoparticipate onavoluntary
basis.Itshouldbeunderlined thatitshouldnotbetheintentionto
createanew"heavy"administrative instrument,butapracticalinformation
systemtobeusedshouldneedarise.
Certification oforiginalfobpricesforcrudeoili .
Inthecontextofimproving ,transparency ,theTokyoSummitagreedthatthe
feasibility ofcertifyingoriginalfobcrudeoilpricesshouldbe•studied.
Inthiscontext,thepricesfinallypaidwhendeliveryismadetorefineries
willbeobtainedthroughtheRegistryRegulation,butbuyersmayoftennot
knowtheoriginalfobprice.Propercertification oforiginalfobprices
car*onlybeprovidedbytheinitialsellers-inmostcasesthestateoil
companiesofproducercountries.Thus,ifcertification istobeundertaken,
thewillingco-operation andparticipation ofall'producercountrieswould
behighlydesirable.

Manytechnicalproblemswouldhavetobesolvedbeforeacertification
systemwouldbeintroduced.However,itsusefulnessinobtaininga
betterunderstanding ofthecrudeoilmarketsuggeststhatthispoint
shouldberaisedwithproducercountriesafterconsultation with.other
industrialised countries. •'
6.Conclusion r
Toimprovetransparency intheoilmarketitisnecessary:
a)toimplementtheregistration ofoilproductimportsbythe
adoptionofthedraftregulation bytheCouncilandthemodalities
forapplication bytheCommission; (
b)tocontinuethedistribution ofinformation onpricesof
crudeoilandpetroleumproducts;
c)todetermine,inliaisonwithotherindustrialcountries,the
basisforestablishing amechanismforaccelerated information
oncrudeoilimports;
d)tocontinuetostudy,withotherindustrialised countries,the
possibility ofcertification offobpricesforcrudeoilwith
aviewtosubsequentdiscussionwithproducercountries.
ι
Followingagreementinprincipleon^points c)andd),theCommission wiI
presentproposals.