The objective of the EPA-research programme are twofold: 1. Energy supply security and geopolitics 2. Energy efficiency, alternative energy resources and sustainable development. The EPA designed to study the effects of global geopolitics of energy supply security on the European Union and main Asian energy-consuming countries and their national strategies for securing supply and their main suppliers are the Persian Gulf and Caspian region (comprising Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Russia).

Since the end of the Cold War, state and non-state actors have assigned more significance to economic and resource concerns. Conflicts over the control of global oil and gas become more likely as global oil and gas consumption and imports rise, environmental conditions deteriorate, availability of oil and gas decreases, and prices for these commodities rise. Internal conflicts over oil and gas could arise in countries where these are the main source of income, and are accompanied by ethnic hostility, economic injustice, and political competition. Due to the growing energy import of the main regions and countries - China, India, but also the European Union and the United States energy relations will be increasingly politicized. Competition and cooperation among consumer countries for energy supplies are likely to become more intense in the coming decades while geopolitical events in the Caspian region and the Gulf will influence the developments in the oil and gas sector and policy making in the consumer countries. Energy supply security is touched by environmental constraints and technological opportunities. Where pollution can create cross-border tensions, new innovations in alternative and renewable resources and efficiency measures can reduce energy import dependence.