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98.05 - Development of the Objectives of the INOGATE Programme in Romania

Title of Project: "Development of the Objectives of the INOGATE Programme in Romania"

Project Number: 98.05

Reference Number: 9805.01.01-02

Beneficiary Countries: Romania

Management contact details (Contractor and local contractors):

EC Contractor:
Markatos-Lamnidis Athens Law Firm
Address:
9, Valaoritou Sytreet
GR-10671 Athens,
Greece
Tel: + 30 210 3645986
Fax: + 30 210 3646533
E-mail: mlathlaw@hol.gr
EU Experts Manager: Mr. Konstantinos Markoulakis

Local Operator:
Central Finance and Contracts Unit
Address:
36-38 Mendeleev Str.
1 Bucharest
Romania
Tel: + 401 3103772
Fax: + 401 3153536
E-mail: indeurc@otenet.gr
Contact Person: Mrs. Ruxandra Marinescu

Total budget of project: 0.30 MEURO

Sector of activities: Institutional improvement of the trade and interstate transport of hydrocarbons

Start date of project: January 2001

End date of project: July 2001

Project objectives:

The overall objective was to create a legal and regulatory environment conductive to private sector investments in oil and gas transport projects.

The specific objectives were:

analysis of the legal and regulatory framework for oil and gas import, export and transit in Romania;
development of the legal and regulatory framework for oil and gas import, export and transit to enable investments to be made which will meet the objectives of he INOGATE Programme for the development of Caspian Sea oil and gas.

Project brief description of activities/approaches:

Project activities included the following:

Review of existing legislation/regulations;
Drafting of proposals for new/amended legislation/regulations;
Consultations with key stakeholders;
Final proposal for legislation/regulation.

During the Project implementation the following Tasks were undertaken:

Task 1: Overview and Assessment of the Romanian legislation related to hydrocarbon imports and transit in the light of the Energy Charter Treaty and its associated draft Protocols and the INOGATE Umbrella Agreement.
Task 2: Proposed Amendments to the Romanian legislation.
Task 3: Consultations with a large number of stakeholders.

The implementation of the Project began with Task 1, which consisted in the collection and translation of the Romanian legislation and the administrative regulations having an effect on the establishment and operation of interstate hydrocarbon transportation systems and their assessment on the basis of the provisions and principles of the institutional systems of the Energy Charter Treaty and the INOGATE Umbrella Agreement.

For Task 2, the Contractor chose a pragmatic approach, i.e. the Contractor's input was not only the identification of legal provisions which had to be amended due to the international commitments of Romania, but also of legislative modifications and additions were advisable in order to provide for a clear and consistent legal environment in order to reduce non-financial risks and attract investments.

Task 3 formed the backbone of the Project and resulted in consultations with representatives of ministries, regulatory authorities, state-owned enterprises, international financial institutions. Task 3 culminated in the 2-day Project Workshop that provided a forum for open discussion among the key officials and stakeholders and resulted in several important proposals for the amendments of the Romanian legislation.

Intended results/encountered limitations:

Findings of the legislative analysis, including the identification of the problem areas, with an indication of severity, and an explanation of proposed changes to the legislative and regulatory framework.
Draft legislative and regulatory texts, including a presentation of guidelines and rationale of the drafting exercise; reference to sources; and a presentation of the proposed texts and their integration in the legal framework.
Proposal on content and implementation, containing agreements between stakeholders on the content of proposed legislative framework, and an action plan and timetable or implementation of the said framework.
Extensive bilateral consultations and organisation of a Workshop;
Elaboration of drafts of legislation and the proposed action plan and timetable for implementation.

Conclusions and summaries:

The Project met and exceeded all the planned objectives and gained the officially expressed appreciation of all the stakeholders. The proposals regarding amendments and additions to the Romanian legislation affecting oil and natural gas transportation in furtherance of the objectives of the INOGATE Programme, namely the facilitation and rationalization of interstate transportation of oil and natural gas from Caspian Basin to Europe, were presented and discussed in detail.

The Project's successful output resulted also in a number of documents signaling the commencement of the Constanta (Romania) - Omisalj (Croatia) Oil Pipeline project, which were signed between the competent state authorities and commercial entities of the three states involved, Romania, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia.