Daniel Apostol, FPE: “The development of a country cannot be done without the development of the energy sector”

“Recently, the Energy Employers’ Federation (FPE) published a study showing the impact on the economy – horizontally and vertically – of investments in the energy sector. The study’s conclusion is that for every euro invested in energy, it multiplies up to 9-10 euros in the economy.

The development of a country cannot be done without the development of the energy sector. There is no way to have economic growth in a European country in the absence of investments in energy production.

From the perspective of the exploitation of crude oil and natural gas, we have long been requesting a new round of exploration and exploitation of deposits in order to evaluate the resources we have,” Daniel Apostol, General Director, FPE said at Energy CEO Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

Key statements:

• Romania has natural gas resources that can be an economic asset that will allow us to evolve through the energy transition process successfully, through natural economic transformation, covering the costs of this investment effort in new technologies.
• However, Romania risks being affected by a so-called resource curse. We have resources, but there is a systemic risk that can block economic growth based on these resources, for various reasons. Two of the reasons I emphasize are the bureaucratic-administrative bottleneck and the degree of overtaxation.
• The main barriers to the implementation of investment projects in the energy sector are administrative, bureaucratic and fiscal barriers.
• Do we want to attract more investments and more foreign capital? Then we must convince investors that Romania is a fertile ground for investments in the energy sector. We must simplify the fiscal system.
• Romania’s energy strategy must be supported by the ideas and vision of using energy resources. We have defined the energy mix, we know who the producers are, we know what the needs of distributors are, we know what the commercial equation would be at the supplier-market level, but if we want economic growth, production units need energy. For example, if we produce natural gas, we must see what we do to ensure that this production provides added value in the Romanian economy.