The eighth edition of the Seminar on world energy markets -annually organized jointly by Harvard University and Repsol- with the participation of important experts and personalities from the oil, gas and energy world, was held in Seville on June 13^th and 14^th. The Seminar�s generic title was "Energy after 2,000."

The Chairman of Repsol, Alfonso Cortina de Alcocer, inaugurated the Seminar, followed by speeches by Professor William Hogan of Harvard University and Nemesio Fern�ndez-Cuesta, Secretary of State for Energy and Mineral Resources.

Nemesio Fern�ndez-Cuesta explained the leading lines of action of Spanish energy policy, which have as one of the fundamental objectives to guarantee "energy at market prices" for consumers. This goal will be achieved through the liberalization of the principal energy sectors, in the same manner as the liberalization of the oil sector has been carried out.

Referring to the new bill for the electricity sector, presently under discussion in Parliament, Nemesio Fern�ndez-Cuesta declared that his aim is to guarantee the following four principles: freedom of establishment, freedom of selection of raw materials (principle subject to certain restrictions as a consequence of the subsidies given to Spanish coal), freedom of generation and freedom of the consumer to choose his supplier. Referring to the gas sector, he pointed out that the Spanish administration will continue with the process of opening the Spanish gas market.

Dr. Kenneth L. Lay, Chairman of the multinational company Enron, presented his outlook for the energy industry in the next century. His conclusions included a prevision of world energy demand until the year 2015, with an average growth rate of 2.4%, with a clear increase in natural gas demand (annual growth of 3.4%), of renewable energies (3.6% annnual growth), and a fall in nuclear energy (annual -0.1% decrease).

The first session of the Seminar, moderated by Jos� Luis D�az-Fern�ndez, Prsident of Repsol Foundation, analyzed the liberalization and restructuring of international energy markets, widely represented by personalities of the business world, and authorities, of which one of the outstanding representatives was Pablo Benavides, Director-General, Directorate-General XVIII, European Commission.

The challenges of the economic restructuring of the energy markets was the topic of the second session, moderated by Professor William Hogan, of Harvard University, which included the outstanding participation of Miguel Angel Fern�ndez Ordo�ez, President of the Spanish National Electric Regulatory Commission. The third session was held on Saturday, June 14^th and was dedicated to the analysis of the forces for change in energy markets. The moderator of the third sesion was Nader Sultan, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

The Seminar was closed by Dr. Irwin M. Stelzer, Director of Regulatory Policy Studies, of the American Enterprise Institute, who presented a summary of the debates and conclusions reached by the participants. Jos� Luis D�az Fern�ndez, President of the Fundaci�n Repsol, the sponsoring entity of this Seminar, gave the closing speech.