According to International Energy Agency projections, world energy consumption could increase by more than 50% over the next twenty-five years. Although environmental concerns are reshaping the energy mix, the world will still be reliant on fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. This raises the question of where the extra resources will come from.

One answer is from ever more challenging areas. If energy companies are to satisfy rising demand, they will have to overcome extremes of geography, geology, and climate. At Sakhalin (an island off the east coast of Siberia) for example, a $20 billion project is underway to develop a huge offshore gas field which is not only in deep water, but also beneath pack ice for six months of the year.

Source: International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency estimates that about half of the undiscovered conventional oil resources outside the Middle East are to be found in deep water or the Arctic regions - an enormous challenge for the energy industry.

In the week commencing 27th March 2006, CNBC Europe will be looking at the Sakhalin example of ‘Extreme Energy’ and the issues surrounding the development of these resources.

You’ll see how difficulties such as temperatures of -30°C and below are being overcome to supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to the rapidly expanding economies of Asia and how particular efforts are underway to involve the Sakhalin community and to protect the local Western Grey Whale population.

At the end of the themed week, a panel of experts will take part in a televised debate about the issues raised.

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A panel of experts including oil exploration specialists meet in The Hague to discuss the issues raised by the Sakhalin example and the wider implications of the search for ‘Extreme Energy’.

The panel will examine the difficulties of maintaining stability of supply in the face of ever increasing demand for energy.

They will be looking at questions such as:

• Can we overcome logistical and technological obstacles to extract resources in such challenging situations?
• How do we balance the growing need for energy with concerns about the environment?
• Or the demands of the many with the rights of the local population?

In a world where the provision of energy is taken for granted, they are all important questions for the future.

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