Romania will hold the chairmanship of the Energy Charter Conference in 2018, after this year’s presidency is assured by Turkmenistan. In an interview for energynomics.ro Magazine, Dr Urban Rusnák, Secretary General of the International Energy Charter Secretariat, told us what will be the areas of interest of the organization in 2018, when Romania holds the rotating presidency of the organization.
One of these priorities is related to policies and practices to combat energy poverty by promoting energy efficiency solutions. Another priority direction will be to improve the security and reliability of cross-border energy transit. For Romania, this is in line with the protection of critical infrastructure and routes, cyber-protection, and emergency response solutions in energy.
The Secretary of State within the Energy Ministry, Iulian Robert Tudorache, coordinator of the oil and gas sector within the institution, represented Romania at two of the most important energy-related events in the Caspian Sea Energy Sector – Energy Charter Conference that took place between 30 May and 31 May in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian International Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, between May 31 and June 2.
At the conference, Secretary of State Iulian Robert Tudorache had an intervention on the importance of strengthening international cooperation in increasing energy security and business opportunities in the oil and gas sector in Romania, according to a press release posted on the website of the Ministry of Energy.
He presented a brief history of the hydrocarbon sector in Romania, as well as short presentations of O&G companies owned by the Romanian state, such as Romgaz, Transgaz, Oil Terminal, Conpet, and of Common Interest Projects (PCIs) in the natural gas sector, as the BRUA interconnector.
He also presented the investment opportunities in Romania, including those in the deep-waters of the Black Sea, where it is estimated that there is an important potential (billions of barrels of oil and several billion cubic meters of natural gas) which could encourage the intensification of exploration activities in these areas. Another project Tudorache insisted on is AGRI, which offers a marketing alternative for Azeri gas and avoids the exclusive dependence on pipelines.
The Energy Charter Conference is an intergovernmental organization that represents the governing and decision-making body for the Energy Charter process that was established by signing the Energy Charter Treaty in 1994.