The burden of oil on a broken world economy and damaged ties with OPEC will be major challenges for Dutch politician and former teacher Maria van der Hoeven when she takes over as head of the International Energy Agency on Sept. 1. Van der Hoeven must also reassess membership of the IEA, which represents oil consumer countries, as China and India emerge as the big oil users of the future and as demand in the United States, still the world's biggest gasoline guzzler, levels off. Those who know Van der Hoeven say her three-and-a-half years as Dutch minister of economy, a post that included responsibility for energy policy, has equipped her well. "She is well known and she is liked. That's one side of her. And another side is that she can be very focused on what she wants to reach, what she wants to get. By and large, the combination of these two things will make her a strong chief of the IEA," said former political associate Hans Vijlbrief, director general at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Some traders, speaking on condition of anonymity, voiced concern the former teacher of vocational education, who was elected a member of parliament in 1991, did not know enough about energy. But her backers say her stint as economy minister from February 2007 to October 2010 had a large energy content, including establishing ambitious targets for renewable energy. At the same time, the Netherlands' status as a gas exporter allowed her to connect with the major OPEC members during trips to the Middle East. Jan Willem van Hoogstraten, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company's managing director for the Netherlands, said Van der Hoeven had attracted foreign partners to play a part in the development of the Dutch gas hub. "These projects cannot be realized without strong support from the state. Maria van der Hoeven generated the needed trust between the companies and countries involved by explicitly expressing strong support from the Dutch state," Van Hoogstraten said. Others who spoke highly of her include Claude Mandil, former head of the IEA from 2003-2007 who has been described as its best executive director yet. "She is very, very clear-thinking and this is a great opportunity for her," said Mandil. Mandil was succeeded by Nobuo Tanaka, whose four-year stint ending on Aug. 31 leaves Van der Hoeven with a difficult legacy after he oversaw an emergency reserves release in June.
