In his New Year Message to the partners of the Institute the Chairman, Mr. Costis Stambolis, provides a concise overview of the Institute’s achievements during last year, looks at the challenges which lie ahead and discusses some of the plans for the current yearIn his New Year Message to the partners of the Institute the Chairman, Mr. Costis Stambolis, provides a concise overview of the Institute’s achievements during last year, looks at the challenges which lie ahead and discusses some of the plans for the current year.
More specifically IENE’s Chairman notes that, “from the progress achieved in a number of areas, last year can rightly be regarded as a time of consolidation and preparation for a major outreach during 2024. Last year was a period when we dealt with diverse issues of great importance in several countries ranging from decarbonization efforts in Bulgaria and Romania, where IENE actively assisted in seminars and conferences, investigating the use of CCUS technologies in Greece to re-examining the prospects for expanding nuclear power use in Central and SE Europe as we joined forces with the London based New Nuclear Watch Institute in organizing a successful conference in Budapest last June. ”
As the Chairman of IENE reported, “West Balkans also came into sharp focus last year as we discussed at length the findings of our “SEE Energy Outlook 2022” with the local academic and engineering community in Albania in a special event organised in the Polytechnic University of Tirana with the support of our local partner, SEA Consulting. Of no less importance was the fact-finding visit to Saudi Arabia, facilitated by HE the Saudi Ambassador to Greece, Dr. Saad Salamar, where I travelled with IENE’s Secretary General, Costas Theofylactos at the end of last September. While in Riyadh we visited the King Abdallah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) and we also held meetings with Ministry of Energy officials and with ARAMCO. During these meetings we had the opportunity to inform our hosts of IENE’s mission and its current work while at the same time we profited from a direct knowledge of Saudi Arabia’s approach to the current complex energy issues, not just In oil and gas, and the serious challenges which the Kingdom is facing as the energy transition to clean fuels is a subject very high on the Saudi agenda.”
Looking ahead Costis Stambolis points out that,”the excellent progress achieved last year in almost all areas of activity - i.e.. increase in membership, undertaking of new study projects and completion of demanding old ones such as the CCUS study, organization of major conferences and series of specialized webinars, the organization of the 3d round of the “Introduction to Energy & Geopolitics” seminar - have emboldened us in our preparations for this year. No less demanding are the challenges we are now facing as we move ahead with our plans which include the preparation of the next Outlook study, scheduled for publication in mid-2025, the completion of another important project which deals with the East Med Energy Options and research work on the Vertical Gas Corridor, the Saudi- Egypt- Greece electricity link and energy poverty in SE Europe.”
“Furthermore”, notes the Chairman of IENE, “we are now working on a plan to re-organize our tiny educational division so as to take advantage of the opportunities we see in this area. In view of the fast-changing energy scene, with new disciplines now entering the work environment and the full digitalization of the sector, there is a clear need for mid-career training and educational courses. Apparently, there is also a strong need to educate non-energy professionals in energy topics such as the functioning of modern-day energy markets as demand for knowledge in this area is getting stronger by the day. In this respect IENE’s very positive experience in Green Bond verification work, in partnership with the Climate Bond Initiative and our continuing cooperation with the Energy Institute in London is proving most useful.”
Concerning finances and planning for this year the Chairman expresses optimism as he observes that, “the continuing moderate improvement of the Institute’s finances over the last 12 months and the positive outlook for 2024, based on commitments made by supporting companies, makes me hopeful that our bold plans for this year will somehow be fulfilled. As it is clear from the 2024 programme of events and the Research/ Study work package for this year, we have very specific plans as we try to expand the Institute’s work across the region. We also have plans in the representation area as we intend to strengthen the Board of Governors with the addition of new partners from some countries, while expanding our country group to include new ones such as Hungary and Egypt.”
In concluding his New Year message to the Board of Governors, in which all IENE partners participate, the Chairman urged the partners to work closely with each other while, “we should strive to remain united in our common goals and noble endeavors, focused in our work and unwavering determination to help the energy community at large but also individual professionals engaged in difficult and demanding tasks. I strongly believe that above all we should aim towards contributing, with our knowledge and expertise, to improving the region’s social and energy conditions while protecting the environment from man made threats and common greed.”
