150 years of oil in Romania - Tradition of Evolution
2007 is a year with a special meaning in the history of Romania: the anniversary of 150 years of Romanian oil industry.
The year 1857 was marked by a series of events which placed Romania as a strategic point on the energetic world map and had a spectacular impact in all the social life fields. In that year, the first refinery in the world was built and opened in Ploiesti, and Romania was the first country in the world with a petroleum production officially registered in the international statistics (275 tones, according to the publication “The Science of Petroleum”). In the same year, Bucharest was the first city in the world illuminated with kerosene, and 50 years later, in 1907, was the host of the third World Conference in the field.
Therefore, Romania has a tradition of over one century and a half in the petroleum extraction and in capitalization of the products resulted after processing it. Through the changes they have involved, the 150 years of oil mean 150 years of modern history of the Romanian economy and society. Marking this moment represents an opportunity for knowing our own history and for debates about our place in the “new order” of the oil. The anniversary has a larger meaning as long as the power security problem is a current one and of great interest in the European Union and also all around the world.
The 150 years of oil will be celebrated at Bucharest through a series of projects and manifestation dedicated to the oil. Among them there is:
- International Conference “150 years of oil in Romania – Tradition of Evolution”, organized on the 6th and 7th of September. The conference will take place under the high patronage of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with participation from the main actors from the European energy power scene, important Romanian public institutions and private companies with activities in extraction, refining and distribution in Romania.
- Memorial coin, in collaboration with the National Bank of Romania.
Therefore celebrating the 150 years of oil is an important moment for our country which marks the opening of the oil era all around the world by Romania.