When the dawn breaks, we prepare for the new day. Similarly, when the dawn of a new energy era dawns, we prepare for action involving different technologies, untapped resources and new knowledge. The Oil and Gas Employers Federation has become Energy Employers' Federation to be able to create a better, more credible, more eloquent dialog for the energy sector.
On November 20, the Viitorul Energiei Gala - Steps Towards the Future, the 2024 edition of one of the most important events in the energy sector. We are not saying it, but the many personalities from the sector who have joined us. Let us mention just a few of those who honored us with their presence at this edition: Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Energy, Radu-Ștefan Oprea, Minister of Economy, Petrică Lucian Rusu, Deputy Secretary General of the Government.
We were also pleased to have as guests representatives of the authorities, leaders of member companies, energy specialists, representatives of other federations, members of associations, academia and business. At the invitation of journalist Lucian Mândruță, host of the event, representatives of member companies spoke about the Federation's values: Ramona Rusu, CFO Dacian Petroleum, Cristina Verchere, CEO OMV Petrom, Răzvan Popescu, CEO ROMGAZ, Ion Sterian, CEO TRANSGAZ, Vasile Cârstea, CEO DEPOGAZ, Bart Wautericks, Managing Director XP, Cătălin Grama, COO ADREM, Constantino Amadei, CEO Vulcan and Mark Beacom, CEO Black Sea Oil&Gas.
Energy Employers' Federation - new name, new approach
Nomen est omen, says a Latin saying, which means that the name foretells something about the destiny of the bearer. In our case, the process has been the other way around: reality has shown that while the world still relies on conventional fuels and traditional ways of producing energy, at the same time climate requirements and the geopolitical context are steering us towards new types of energy, from renewable sources. And because our concerns are as varied as Romania's energy mix (a sign of the country's economic health), we finally opted for a change of title and chose a name that is truly indicative of the trends in energy and our future work.
The name change has been accompanied by a change of visual identity: we believe you will find our sober and committed spirit in a form that is eloquent of our new profile.
This year's edition of Galei Viitorul Energiei was opened by Mr. Franck Neel, President of the Energy Employers Federation, who gave the floor to Mr. Sebastian Burduja, Minister of Energy. Mr. Burduja gave an overview of the Ministry of Energy for the year 2024 and noted that the projects were also made possible thanks to the people in the energy sector, including those in the room: "The future of energy is, in fact, the people of Romanian energy. From the leaders of big companies to the people who do their duty when we have floods and work up to their waists in water to repair power lines to restore electricity supply. We managed to attract somewhere around €14 billion for Romanian energy this year, non-reimbursable funds from the NRRP and the Modernization Fund. Energy must first of all be secure, secondly at a competitive price and thirdly as clean as possible, if possible.".
The festive moment of the image change was honored by the presence of Mr. Radu Oprea, Minister of Economy. He congratulated and mentioned one of the projects in which the Ministry of Economy and the Energy Employers' Federation have become partners, referring to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to support the education of the University of Oil and Gas in Ploiesti. This institution "should become a research leader in Romania. Whether we are talking about hydrogen, whether we are talking about carbon capture, storage, utilization, about all the new ideas, about biofuels, the University of Oil and Gas should become a leader, which really means a new transformation, a green transformation, towards clean energy. At the same time, I represent the customer, the Romanian economy, which needs cheap energy. I believe that Romania has a unique opportunity, because this time geography and geology are our friends, and it has rarely happened in our history to have such opportunities."
Daniel Apostol, Director General of the Energy Employers' Federation, summarized in a few words the essence of the transformation the Federation is going through, with a focus on facilitating dialogue, a commitment that is sure to continue: "Dialogue and innovation for Romanian energy. The Federation is very attentive to the challenges we have to face, to all the challenges of a technological nature, of changing markets, of changing mentalities, of transforming the workforce. The Federation wants to be a very good host, not only at the galas, but especially in the dialog rooms, together with our stakeholders, especially the representatives of the authorities, with whom, together, we want to build a regulatory framework favorable to the development of the sector in Romania.".
For more information, please visit our new website, www.fpe.ro, for information on the energy sector, legislative framework, taxation and workforce.
