Interconnecting Europe: Natural Gas in Romania

In cooperation with the Energy Policy Group, and with the patronage of MEP Norica Nicolai, Natural Gas Europe would like to invite you to participate at a conference to be held in Brussels, on the 9^th December 2015, between 15h and 18h, dedicated to analyzing the domestic situation of natural gas in Romania and looking at how Romania impacts the Energy Union Strategy of the European Commission. The event is part of Natural Gas Europe’s conference series “Interconnecting Europe”. This event will be held under Chatham House Rules.

The event will be held in the European Parliament in Brussels, room A5G1 and is part of Natural Gas Europe’s conference series “Interconnecting Europe”. This event will be held under Chatham House Rules.

1.0 Topics to be Addressed/Discussed

This event will cover the different dimensions of natural gas in Romania, including:

Regional and domestic natural gas infrastructure priorities: strategic gains from the proposed projects (e.g. Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria Interconnector), and possible alternatives (e.g. Eastring, reverse flow on existing Transit lines).
End-consumer prices: market distortions from current consumer-protection model (regulated gas market) and long-term impact on consumer prices. Best practices for vulnerable consumers’ protection.
Domestic gas, onshore & offshore, conventional & unconventional reserves: future commercial perspectives arising from current legal, political and market context. Best policies to encourage domestic economic growth, as well as domestic and regional energy security.
Regional institutional cooperation formats (e.g. CESEC) – Romania’s role and weight in such frameworks.
Natural gas infrastructure financing options: from EU funds to private investments and credit; conditions and long-term implications; projects’ bankability prospects.
Domestic and regional gas market outlook: demand growth or stagnation; industry trends; future impact of climate change mitigation efforts.
European legislation: impact to-date of Third Energy Package implementation in Romania; finding the right balance between companies’, government’ and consumers’ needs.

2.0 Project Facilitators

Natural Gas Europe

Natural Gas Europe acts a facilitator for the meaningful engagement needed between the key stakeholder segments: policy-makers at various levels, industry and business, academia, NGOs, media and local communities.

We have been active for four years and now have a website (www.naturalgaseurope.com) that garners 1.2 million views annually, 15,000 Twitter followers and a twice weekly newsletter with growing subscription demand. Natural Gas Europe reaches a well-defined target audience directly engaged in natural gas matters, crossing over 2,000 unique visitors per day and reaching governmental and diplomatic officials, institutions, industry, think tanks, and academics.

Our Gas Dialogues sessions enable face-to-face discussion and engagement to take place on key, topical matters impacting the sector, have reached over 1,500 priority stakeholders. While traditional conferences often entail one-way communication from the narrow perspective of the conference organizer, Natural Gas Europe’s Gas Dialogues sessions provide a neutral forum to foster engagement between the different sides of the debate, including those who will shape – and be impacted by – developments in natural gas matters.

We are proud to offer a neutral platform and to partner with a variety of organizations that are equally keen to broaden and strengthen the natural gas conversation. We have endeavored and continue to establish Knowledge Partnerships with leading academic institutions, think tanks and niche media in able to provide our viewership with analysis and insight from these important members of the natural gas stakeholder community.

Energy Policy Group

The Energy Policy Group (www.enpg.ro) is a Bucharest-based non-profit, independent think-tank specializing in energy policy, market analytics and energy strategy. 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 seeks to facilitate informed dialogue between public decision-makers, energy companies and investors, and the broader public. It looks at governmental energy policies and their effects, at market events and tendencies, and at broader strategic processes with economic, security, and environmental impact. EPG’s approach is consistently evidence-based.

EPG partners with national and international institutions (think-tanks, universities, research institutes, foundations, and media platforms) in order to more efficiently participate in the construction of a cooperative, mutually beneficial, resilient, and community-friendly energy system in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Basin.

3.0 Interconnecting Europe

Interconnecting Europe is an open series of events dedicated to discussing and analyzing the Energy Union strategy from the perspective of the different actors involved, being it Member States, Institutions, regulators, Industry and/or Consumers. The events will be focusing on the discussion around the strengths, weaknesses, potential and opportunities that exist in the different Member States or regions of Europe and looking at how these can best be harvested and tackled. Natural Gas Europe, together with its partners, will invite politicians, regulators, academics, experts, industry and consumer representatives for an open dialogue with the objective of building an accurate map of the natural gas reality across Europe. These events will take place in Brussels and in the capitals of different Member States between 2015 and 2017.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact us at:

MEP Norica Nicolai’s Office

Ionut-Bogdan Deleanu

Email: ionut-bogdan.deleanu@europarl.europa.eu

Phone: +32(0)2 28 45619

Natural Gas Europe

João Salviano Carmo

EU Affairs Liaison

Email: joao.salviano@minoils.com

Phone : +32 (0)499 736 073

Energy Policy Group

Radu Dudau

Director

Phone: +40 744 362 787

Email: radu.dudau@enpg.ro

EVENT CONTENT