Statements of “Romania’s Energy in the New Economy” : When will Romania see the first Black Sea’s gas outcomes after the offshore law amendment?

Romania has a huge opportunity ahead. Taking advantage of the potential of the Black Sea subsoil and deep-sea onshore resources, we could reach a high enough level of domestic production to be able to secure energy security. Some would say that we could also ensure energy independence, but to what extent we will be able to get rid of imported gas remains to be seen. Until then, we have a significant change in the Offshore Law, which is awaiting publication in the Official Gazette and which could give a new optimistic trajectory to the Romanian economy. What does our energy future look like, how do we become a balancing factor and an important pawn in Europe? But how will investments in the Black Sea proceed in the context of the conflict on our border?

Some of the answers came from the chairman of the Committee for Industries and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, Sandor Bende, during the event “Romania’s Energy in the New Economy”, hosted by EM360 and Sustainable Romania.

Bende Sandor, President, Committee on Industry and Services, Chamber of Deputies: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/1156740318494938

However, after Parliament unblocked the Offshore Law, the ball is in the hands of companies licensed to operate in the Black Sea, according to Lorant Antal, Chairman, Committee on Energy, Energy Infrastructure and Mineral Resources, Senate. On the other hand, the state, in turn, must ensure that the money that will come back from these projects, not at all small (somewhere at 60% of revenues), must be directed to objectives such as the reindustrialization of Romania.

Lorant Antal, Chairman, Committee on Energy, Energy Infrastructure and Mineral Resources, Romanian Senate: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/1051066669178331

The planets seem to have aligned for Romania’s energy future. “The situation and the resources help us, but we also have to help ourselves. We have a considerable opportunity as we have not had for many years, “said Cristian Hubati, a member of the Board of Directors, the Federation of Employers of Oil and Gas, during the event” Romania’s Energy in the New Economy “. The amendment to the Offshore Law brings a new impetus to the economy, but we must be careful how we safely manage any project in the Black Sea. If all goes well, we could have the first gas molecules by the end of 2026, the industry representative added.

Cristian Hubati, Member of the Board of Directors, FPPG: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/740785463597003

And once our internal needs are met, we could become a real energy supplier for other states, says Pavel Popescu, chairman of the Committee on Defense, Public Order and National Security in the Chamber of Deputies.

Pavel Popescu, President, Committee on Defense, Public Order and National Security, Chamber of Deputies: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/5152706221504147

Of course, there are also skeptics, but it should be noted that the amendment of the Offshore Law does not mean that we are selling our country to foreigners, but only a business approach that the state has chosen to capitalize on our resources. In addition, he is the one who controls 70% of what happens in the Black Sea.

On the other hand, investors are the ones who assume all the financial risks, and not only, said Cătălin Niță, the executive director of FPPG, during the same event.

Cătălin Niță, Executive Director, FPPG: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/415421916823664

And, more than that, Romania has the obligation to think of an innovative economic strategy on its own, not one from one day to the next. Given that we now benefit from a law that would ensure a better future, we are fooled by an economic growth, without concrete effects on the living standards of Romanians, according to Professor Mircea Coșea. Mircea Coșea, Doctor of Economics: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/543209140521476

At the end of the meeting, Dumitru Chisăliță, the president of the Intelligent Energy Association, also underlined on the destination of the money that Romania could earn from the exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea.

We need a clear economic strategy and concrete projects to which these revenues will go, and only then will we be able to say, truly, that Romania benefits from its natural resources.

Dumitru Chisăliță, President, Intelligent Energy Association: https://www.facebook.com/EM360Studio/videos/705647480637674