Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management (HHRM/EDEY) has just hosted the Mediterranean Offshore Authorities Forum with the participation of the competent authorities for offshore safety from EU Mediterranean countries (Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain and Portugal), the Department of Public Works of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works of Cyprus and the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company.
HHRM CEO Aristofanis Stefatos acknowledged the fact that HHRM has signed MoUs with many of the participating countries and that the forum promises to be the beginning of fruitful collaboration in the future.
He expressed an interest for the forum to serve as a platform facilitating the exchange of information on safety aspects, discussion of technical developments in member countries, and exchange of ideas and experiences. Stefatos also expressed his interest in making this forum a formal entity in the future and touched on the dynamics and challenges of the industry.
“As Europe paves its way into the future, the accessibility to energy resources such as natural gas, the recognized transition fuel, becomes critically important. The security and diversification of our energy resources serves the best interest of all Europeans. Today, at times when the industry is facing unprecedented challenges, this is our chance, if not obligation, to join forces and cooperate even more dynamically towards the common goal of the development of the sector to the highest standards. There is a legacy of knowledge and experience in the field that can be applied across industry in many other sectors,” Stefatos noted.
The welcome was also extended by Joerg Koehli, Head of Upstream Oil and Gas Team of the European Commission, who highlighted the importance of collaboration between competent authorities and mentioned that meetings of the EU Offshore Authorities Group will also hopefully resume in the near future.
Alexandra Sdoukou, secretary-general of Greece’s environment and energy ministry, welcomed the initiative with the following statement: “I commend HHRM’s initiative for creating the forum of the competent authorities on offshore safety of the EU Mediterranean member states. Dialogue and exchange of expertise have always been the driving forces for progress and development. Finding common ground for communication between countries, in order to meet common challenges and goals, is an essential step for success. The technical experience and specialization that HHRM continues to acquire through such initiatives classifies it among those organizations that will assist in the development of new energy projects and infrastructure in Greece, but even more importantly, it can also benefit our neighboring countries in similar endeavors”.
The participants and the main topics of the forum
The forum facilitated constructive dialogue between the delegates of institutions and ministries of national governments from European countries including, among others: Katerina Plati (Cypriot Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Insurance, Department of Labour Inspection); Vlatka Vanicek (Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency); Katerina Kostaki (HHRM); Roberto Cianella (Italian Ministry of Economic Development Directorate-General for Infrastructures, Safety and Security of the Energy and Geomining systems); Stelios Zervos (Cypriot Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works Department of Public Works). In addition to the above, the following also took part in the discussion: Maria Matzakou (HHRM); Nick Barkas (HHRM); Irini Eleftheriou and Nikolaos Drousiotis (Cyprus Hydrocarbon Company); Jose Miguel Martins (Mining Management Division, Directorate General for Energy and Geology); María Henche (Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge); David Dobrinic (Croatian Hydrocarbon Service); Albert Caruana, Charles Galea and Yanika Farrugia from the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.