Over the next five years, Romania risks becoming an energy hub for Europe - but only as an exporter, because domestic consumption is collapsing, said Bogdan Nichisoiu, Regional Enhanced Information Manager at Coface Romania, on Wednesday.
"I was looking at Eurostat data on the energy dependence of European states. Europe covers about 60% of its energy needs through imports. If you take all 27 EU states, Romania is among the three least dependent. We are in third place, in a good sense. We import only about 28% of our energy needs. I believe Estonia and Sweden are ahead of us. But this also comes with a painful reality, and I'm not referring to 2010 - 2015, I mean even last year. Think about how much Azomures operated last year. It's a rhetorical question. What happened to ArcelorMittal Hunedoara? What is happening to players in the automotive industry - Leoni (which closed its Ludus plant), Adient (which shut down its Ploiesti facility), or Aumovio, part of the former Continental? Our frustrating risk is that in the next five years we may become an energy hub for Europe, but only as an exporter. Why? Because we no longer consume anything domestically. This risk of deindustrialization affects Europe as a whole, but it is clearly visible in Romania as well," he explained.
Nichisoiu stressed that Europe is vulnerable in both the steel and chemical industries, noting that in the past three years the rate of chemical-plant closures has been six times higher than in the previous period, driven by the energy crisis.
He cited a Roland Berger study showing that between 2022 and 2025, Europe's energy-intensive chemical sector lost 10% of its production capacity - around 37 million tonnes of finished products - and nearly 200,000 jobs, "the equivalent of a sizeable Romanian city". In each of these years, 74% of chemical companies posted negative operating profitability (EBITDA), while investment (CAPEX) fell by 84%. "This clearly shows Europe's vulnerability in energy and in key industrial sectors such as metallurgy and chemicals. We risk becoming importers in the next 10 - 15 years," the Coface official said.
In this context, he argued that the Liberty Steel plant in Galati is a strategic asset for Romania and must be preserved. "It is essential for Romania to still have Liberty in 10, 15, 20 years, given our steel needs and the infrastructure we still have to build."
Nichisoiu also said that Romgaz's potential takeover of Azomures "makes sense", as it would vertically integrate the company's natural-gas production with fertilizer manufacturing. He said he hopes a final investment decision could be reached by 2026, noting that discussions are ongoing.
Coface Romania released on Wednesday its 2025 Insolvency Study, showing 7,553 new insolvency cases last year, up from 7,274 in 2024, and 221 preventive concordat procedures, compared with 96 the previous year. The sectors with the most insolvencies were wholesale and retail trade/vehicle repair (1,844), construction (1,580), and transport & storage (939), accounting for a combined of about 58% of all cases in 2025.
Comentează