ROPEPCA has a new management
The Romanian Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association (ROPEPCA) announces the beginning of the term of the new leadership of the organization, following the elections held in early November.
The composition of the ROPEPCA Managing Committee will be ensured between November 2018 and November 2019 by Saniya Melnicenco (NIS Petrol) – President, Artur Stratan (Amromco Energy) – Vice President, Mark Wagley (Hunt Oil), Norbert Groeschner (OMV Petrom) and Michel Louboutin (Expert Petroleum), as members.
The new ROPEPCA President, Saniya Melnicenco, has a law background with over 18 years of experience. She has been with NIS Petrol since 2012, as Director of the Legal and Corporate Affairs Department. At the same time, Saniya Melnicenco has been an active member of ROPECA management for the past four years, being involved in all the projects and programs run by the association. She takes over the ROPEPCA President term from Harald Kraft, Country Manager of Stratum Energy Romania.
“ROPEPCA has always advocated for a predictable and attractive business environment for petroleum exploration and exploitation companies in Romania. We have encountered many challenges in this regard over the last few years. I am looking forward, together with my colleagues in ROPEPCA, to manage to overcome these challenges by promoting an active and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders. We hope to increase the understanding of the importance of the petroleum upstream industry. We want this acknowledgement to further enable the development of a balanced and stable public policy framework that encourages investment in this area of tradition in Romania,” said Saniya Melnicenco.
ROPEPCA President reminds the public that the main challenges faced by the onshore oil and gas industry are the strong need of modernization of the legislative framework in the field of petroleum resources exploration and exploitation, as well as the need to increase the market’s competitiveness and the lack of a clear horizon on the organization of the 11th concession round petroleum perimeters.
In his turn, Harald Kraft, the former President of ROPEPCA, confirms: “I believe in continuity and in a consolidated relation between the State and business environment. As I have said many times, ROPEPCA is a dialogue partner for the state in order to create a favourable and attractive environment for this sector of the economy and I am convinced that the Association will be a strong promoter of best practices for the petroleum industry also in the future.”
The members of the Association emphasize on this occasion the importance that a predictable, stable and competitive legislative and fiscal system has on the optimal operation of the upstream industry and, implicitly, on the strategic benefits it brings: strengthening the energy security at national and regional level, as well as supporting the increase of the national economy.
About ROPEPCA
The Romanian Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association (ROPEPCA) was founded in November 2012, with the purpose of consolidating the image of the onshore upstream sector in Romania and of improving its relationship and communication with Government, regional and local authorities, with national agencies and with the general public. ROPEPCA is composed of 15 concession agreements titleholders. These agreements were signed by member companies with the Romanian state, based on the Petroleum Law in force. At present, ROPEPCA members hold the majority of the petroleum concession agreements for the onshore development and production blocks in Romania, representing for the years 2014-2017 cumulated investments of more than EUR 4 billion, contributions to the state budget of EUR 5.5 billion, and the creation and maintenance of 14,000 jobs.
Source: ROPEPCA Press release
