"At the moment, gas from the Black Sea will ensure Romania's energy independence, energy security in the region and an economic boost for Romania."
CRISTIAN HUBATI, MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF THE OIL AND GAS EMPLOYERS' FEDERATION
New Economy, June 18, 2024
"Energy security - a European problem with Black Sea solutions"
Reporter and moderator: Adrian Măniuuțiu, journalist
Permanent guest: Daniel Apostol, Director General of the Federation of Oil and Gas Employers
Guest: Cristian Hubati, Member of the Board of the Federation of Oil and Gas Employers
The dialogue touched on the Black Sea as a source of energy security for the country and the region, as well as on the new technologies needed to make the energy transition a success. Watch the full discussion here:
ENERGY PRODUCES WEALTH - AN AGE-OLD TRUTH WITH MANKIND
"Energy consumption generates wealth for the population. Gas is a way of converting this welfare into energy."
NATURAL GAS - THE ENERGY THAT SUSTAINS OUR CURRENT LIFESTYLE
"I'll just give you an example. A Google search, which gives multiple answers and then you have to keep searching, versus a search with AI. Search with AI consumes 10 times more energy, but it gives you single answers, it already filters. So from here alone, if we start looking, there will be an exponential increase in consumption. And then we have to keep in mind that gas, as a transition fuel, replaces other sources like coal, which have much higher emissions per unit. The Neptun Deep project has carbon emissions of 2.2 kg per barrel equivalent. That is extremely, extremely low compared to industry. The offshore industry is somewhere at 16. Romania will support the transition with a source with extremely low emissions because of the technology applied."
CCUS + GEOTHERMAL, EQUATION FROM ROMANIA'S LOW-EMISSION SYSTEM
"We have identified carbon as one of the sources of pollution. And then we have to sequester it, extract it from the atmosphere. Technologies come in on the carbon capture and storage or utilization side. The famous carbon capture and storage, which is an extremely technically stable subject, extremely important, because without these technologies, we will not be able to close the whole equation of consumption and emissions. Then, coming back to energy, there is the geothermal part, which produces thermal energy, produces electricity."
THE CARBON STORAGE BAR IS HIGH. HOW IS THE STATE TRAINING TO MAKE THE LEAP?
"It's the same story as investing in power generation projects. The duration is relatively long, there are a lot of actors involved, you need the legislative environment, fiscal stability, you need security in the area. As a technology that is NOW scaling up, CCS needs a legislative framework that is developing at the moment. It needs to be speeded up because there are already European rules, European directives, which require Romania to have a certain amount of carbon storage per year. Brussels has created a framework and targets for all member countries. Romania has a fairly ambitious target in this respect."
WHY DOES NATURAL GAS HAVE A FUTURE IN EUROPE?
"We now produce by technology, by thermal engines, by turbines, from different fuels. Power generation from gas has an extremely good efficiency, the conversion is done with virtually no yield destruction. In addition, it is 60% less polluting than coal."
NEW ECONOMY is a series of dialogues with energy sector specialists from authorities and ministries on the transformations triggered by the energy transition. These are technological as well as economic changes, the imposition of higher and more costly environmental standards, and the possibility or impossibility of maintaining the competitiveness of certain industries. Adrian Măniuțiu and his guests bring all this to the public's attention in a series that aims to inform, educate and demolish myths in order to make the transition easier to understand, accept and overcome for the citizens of Romania.
