5th JANAF’s International Energy & Oil Conference - “Energy in the 21st Century”

03.12.2019. 14:52

Zagreb – JANAF Plc. celebrated its 45th anniversary and 40th year of its system operation by its traditional 5th International Energy & Oil Conference, entitled “Energy in the 21st Century”, which was held today, on 3 December 2019, in the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb, under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia.

This year jubilee conference was opened by dr.sc. Tomislav Ćorić, envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia and envoy of Croatian Prime Minister, Minister of Environment and Energy. The welcoming remarks were given by mr.sc. Darko Horvat, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, dr.sc. Mario Banožić, Minister of State Property, as well as by Nikolay Petrovich Tokarev, Chairman of the Management Board and President of Transneft and Jaroslav Kocian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Oil Transporters (IAOT).

In his welcoming remarks, dr.sc. Dragan Kovačević, Chairman of the JANAF Management Board, focused on the growth and development of JANAF over the past 45 years and thanked all those who, during the four decades of JANAF’s operation, have woven their work, knowledge and experience in order for the company to grow and become an indispensable energy factor even beyond the borders of the European Union and this part of Europe. “By responsible management of the company, proactive actions on the crude oil and petroleum product market, export orientation and investments, we achieved continuous growth and remarkable business results. Moreover, such results would not be possible without continuously investing in our employees and creating a working atmosphere that guarantees safety to our employees, as well as work and life balance”, pointed out dr.sc. Dragan Kovačević, Chairman of the JANAF Management Board.

“The energy is a factor that will most influence the formation of the society in the 21st century, and thus the state reflections should be strategic, turned towards the future, along with respecting the market regularities. In the next quarter of the century, there will still be a need for the oil and gas in order for the global energy demand to be satisfied, although such growth will be accompanied by the growing share of the renewable energy sources. In the energy transition, the oil companies will be the ones to undergo a transformation into the energy companies, and they will include more and more the renewable energy sources into their portfolio”, pointed out dr.sc. Tomislav Ćorić, Minister, in his opening remarks.

In his welcoming remarks at the conference, mr.sc. Darko Horvat, Minister, congratulated JANAF its 45th anniversary and 40th year of its system operation, highlighting the importance of such gatherings, as a place of exchanging opinions and experiences. Given the fact that the energy is an important segment of the Croatian economy, it pointed out the significance of JANAF as an economic entity, which together with other energy companies, plays a crucial role in a new investment cycle, which we expect to occur in the next three years. Reflecting on JANAF’s work, minister Horvat said: “JANAF is an important energy company in the Republic of Croatia, positioning itself as a crucial factor of the energy sector of the European Union and, owing to its investment cycles, is a generator of the Croatian economy, ensuring, by its infrastructure, the stability and security of the crude oil and petroleum product supply.”

By greeting those present at the conference, dr.sc. Mario Banožić, Minister, pointed out: ”According to the analyses by the Ministry of State Property, JANAF is a highly liquid company, which, looking at the value of its assets and revenues that it realises, has a significant influence on the Croatian economy, achievement of the public goals, revenues of the state budget, as well as investments. The state, as its owner, within its powers, will continue to supervise the work and results of JANAF and to support the investments that will contribute to the further growth and development of the society. Therefore, as the owner’s representatives, we welcome all further activities of the Management Board, Supervisory Board and General Meeting in the achievement of the stated goal.”

In the conference introductory part, the congratulations to JANAF were also extended by Nikolay Tokarev, Chairman of the Management Board and President of Transneft and by Jaroslav Kocian, Chairman of the IAOT Board of Directors, welcoming JANAF’s joining the International Association of Oil Transporters at the beginning of this year. The President of Transneft Tokarev especially highlighted a major step forward in the JANAF oil pipeline system development, as well as progress in the cooperation between Transneft and JANAF in different areas. The Chairman of the IAOT Board of Directors Kocian pointed out that the association’s main goal is the cooperation and development of the activities related to transport and storage of crude oil and petroleum products at the international, regional and national levels.

During the conference, dr.sc. Dragan Kovačević, Chairman of the JANAF Management Board, gave a presentation on the significance of the energy sector in the European economy with a special focus on the Central and South Eastern Europe, while Sandor Fasimon, President of the INA Management Board, highlighted new guidelines for the development of oil companies. Eugene Lindell, from the JBC Energy Consulting, gave an overview of the turbulences and trends on the European oil and energy market. The discussions within two round tables focused on the present and future in the energy sector and the oil companies, as well as on the energy transition and the role of the energy infrastructure. The representatives of the distinguished foreign and Croatian energy oil companies participated at those round table discussions.

This year jubilee conference gathered over 200 national and foreign economic, energy and oil experts, as well as the representatives of the energy companies, the academic community, consulting firms and banking sector, and JANAF’s business partners.