OMV Petrom is a traditional O&G producer, but it is also looking towards the future, said Alexandru Maximescu, the Director of OMV Petrom’s Public and Regulatory Affairs Department. “For sure, for the next decades to come, natural gas will play a very important role”, he said, “and we see our role to play towards 2050, towards close to zero GHG emissions”, he explained, during an exclusive high-level conversation organized by Energynomics.

“At the moment, without gas, Europe can come to a standstill. Gas resources are needed, as natural gas is a low carbon fuel and it has a great role to play in balancing the electricity market in the future”, insisted Alexandru Maximescu, while pledging for a balanced energy mix. “A variety of technologies will be the solution for the future, tailored for each of the European countries depending on their characteristics,”, he said.

Europe has always played a very forward-looking and modeling role in the energy debates around the world, noted Alexandru Maximescu. At the same time, “we have not to forget that Europe only produces 10% of the CO2 in the world. It is good to lead the transition, but it is also important to see what others are doing and try to convince them to have a common goal.” The OMV Petrom official decried the absence of big countries like China and Russia from the COP26 works. „All the steps we take must be followed by other big economies of the world. Otherwise, we will put at risk the competitiveness of the European industry and the welfare of the region.”

Alexandru Maximescu mentioned the Black Sea. “We are anxious to see this tremendous project getting started as soon as possible”, with its gas resources that might prove to be a very useful element for the transition in Romania and the region.

Another big opportunity he mentioned was the European funds available for the Central and Eastern European EU countries. “We saw some of them, like the Czech Republic, finalizing their regulatory framework concerning the Modernization Fund. We are confident that Romania will also close this loop and we will also have the necessary legal and regulatory framework in order to apply for these funds. The opportunity is great, the greatest for the Romanian energy sector in the last 30 years, and I think there are enough mature projects in Romania to apply for this funding.”

However, “our greatest assets as a country are our brains”, Alexandru Maximescu said. “Our future will depend a lot not only on the policymaking, on the EU, on legal and regulatory framework, but a lot will depend on the forward-looking education for the next generations.”

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