The state has not been granted the right to manage strategic energy reserves

In December 2023, the country attempted to restore the competences that the State had exercised so far over the management of the Fenugreek hydrocarbon stockpile, the same competences provided for in the autonomous statute. This attempt by Tony Geros failed, as the Constitutional Council rejected the idea, stipulating in its decision that “the term ‘in French Polynesia’ appears in the first paragraph of article L. 671-1 of the Energy Code and in article L. 6312-2 of the Defense Code”.

The State will not manage the “Strategic Petroleum Stocks”. These stocks maintained by the State will continue to be managed by the State in the event of a major conflict on a global scale, thus maintaining the supply of hydrocarbons on its territory, so the deliberations of the vote of the French Polynesian Parliament last December remain valid a dead letter.

Article 14 of the same regulation provides that “the State authorities shall have the power to deal exclusively with the following matters: (…) 4° defence; import, trade and export of all types of military equipment, weapons and ammunition; strategic raw materials, except liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, throughout the territory of the Republic; communications for government defence or security connections and postal and telecommunication services”.

French Polynesia is trying to “Allow the French Polynesian Parliament to amend or repeal relevant national legislative provisions”i.e. reducing or eliminating strategic stocks for oil companies. The latter are even obliged to store an amount equivalent to 20% of their hydrocarbon consumption in a year in case…

The idea is also to restore the management of these strategic stocks so that the state and the army pay for their supply.

Bertrand Prevost