“We are a selfish society feeding ourselves from our parents’ and our grandparents’ achievements; we consume from the value built by our ancestors”, believes Dumitru Chisăliță, author of a new released documentary book on the history of the Romanian oil and gas industry. Keeping their memory alive is the least we can do, and for Dumitru Chisăliță – as a descendant of a family that worked for long decades in O&G industry – this is an even most pressing duty.
The Energy Policy Group (EPG) organized on July 3rd the book launch event for “One century of natural gas transportation” (download an excerpt), the most recent book by Dumitru Chisăliță. The 217 pages volume, published by the print house of Transilvania University, in Brașov, is filled with data, maps, photos and technical drawings depicting the beginnings of the transportation for natural gases in Romania. It took 5 years of documentation and one year of actual writing to make this volume a remarkable documentary contribution, the more significant as the number of such contributions is so small.
In Romania, the history and the technical history in particular are treated with faulty negligence, said Dumitru Chisăliță, explaining what was his motivation in entering in and endeavoring such a long and difficult assignment. The author believes that it is essential for us not to forget the past achievements of the people who made hard-to-imagine sacrifices in order to build an industry we are taking now for granted. “Out of these 100 years of history, for 50 years all the hard work was made with human force and ingenuity; before the mechanized equipment, all was based on bare arms and big souls”.
Radu Dudău, co-founder and director of EPG, where Dumitru Chisăliță is one of the affiliated experts, welcomed the new book as a much needed contribution in a time when people in the O&G industry “feel like a fortress under attack” – “It is hard to assume the pride of being a oilman when the great achievements of the industry – old and recent – are flooded under criticisms and accusations coming from everywhere”.
Not only the scientific diligence is to be admired, Radu Dudău said, but also the transparent admiration the author transmits for the “heroic dimension of pioneering in the Romanian O&G industry”.
Authoring more than 15 books on the past times of this industry, Dumitru Chisăliţă has more into making, as the great achievements, premieres and figures abound in this history. And, as the author put it, “the more history you read, the more visionary manager you become”.
About the author
Dumitru Chisăliţă has extensive work experience with Romanian companies and institutions including ROMGAZ, TRANSGAZ, Ministry of Economy, Transilvania University, Brasov and Sibiu University. He is former director of SNGN ROMGAZ SA. He is a technical expert and Oil & Gas consultant, as well as judicial Oil & Gas expert within the Romanian Ministry of Justice. Currently he is member of the ROMGAZ Managing Board, and Adviser to the Minister of Energy.
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About EPG
The Energy Policy Group (EPG) is a Bucharest-based non-profit, independent think-tank specializing in energy policy, market analytics and energy strategy, grounded in February 2014. EPG’s regional focus is Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Basin, yet its analyses are informed by wider trends and processes at global and EU levels. EPG promotes a technologically advanced, secure, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable energy system. Although pro-business, EPG’s views are self-standing and science-based. EPG relies on the best specialized data sources, as well as on its own research concerning energy security and strategy, technology, markets, geopolitics and political risk.