NIS had a notable appearance in the European Energy Dialogue Forum in Thessaloniki 

The European Energy Dialogue Forum was held for the ninth time in Thessaloniki on June 29-30, organized by the Institute of Energy of South East Europe. In accordance with global events that have a strong influence on this part of Europe, the topic of this year’s conference is “Quest for a New Energy Balance”. Chief Legal Officer for EU Legislation Nikola Radovanović represented NIS at this event.

The main goal of the European Energy Dialogue is the establishment and maintenance of continuous exchange of experience, information and ideas between state officials, representatives of regional organizations and experts from energy companies of Southeast Europe, as well as from countries producing oil and natural gas. This year, the emphasis was placed on one of the most important initiatives of the European Union – security of supply in the context of general European and regional instability. The forum also covered the issues concerning the feasibility of decarbonisation of economies of Southeast European countries, development of new capacities for production of electricity, networks and interconnectors and perspective for further investments in the oil sector.

NIS appeared at this event on June 30, within the framework of a panel discussion entitled “Investment and Business Opportunities in the Oil Market in Southeast Europe”, which was moderated by Dr Hans Hutta, General Manager, International Centre for Petroleum & Industrial Management, Austria. In addition to N. Radovanović, the representatives of Hellenic Petroleum (Greece), TUPRAS (Turkey) and Albanian Ministry of Trade, Economy and Energy also participated in this panel discussion. The basic directions of NIS’ investment in exploration and production of hydrocarbons were presented on this occasion, as well as the basic directions for further development of retail network, projects in the field of electricity and thermal energy that continue the transformation process from a traditional oil & gas company into an energy company, and the significance of the “Bottom of the Barrel” project was especially emphasized. It was pointed out that NIS operates in five countries of the West Balkans and that it finds great potential for long-term operations and further development of its business activities in these countries. As a conclusion, it was underlined that, as an energy company, NIS recognized a long time ago that the necessary flexibility can be secured only through timely diversification of operations, and this flexibility is crucial for maintaining good business results in such volatile market conditions prevailing today. This event was supported by the European Commission representatives in Greece, as well as by NIS, Hellenic Petroleum, Energean Oil & Gas and others.