Romania will soon have access to Black Sea gas which will reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said Tuesday that Black Sea Oil & Gas had begun drilling in the Black Sea.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked discussion about how Europe can swiftly reduce its heavy dependence on energy from Russia.
There is the looming prospect of a severe gas shortage which threatens the future delivery of around 140 billion cubic meters of gas per year of Russian gas to EU customers.
The European Commission plans to cut dependence on Russian gas by two thirds this year and end all Russian fossil fuel imports well before 2030, Reuters reported.
„Romania will have gas from other sources this summer including the Black Sea…. . Tests are already underway to introduce the first gas molecule into the national transport system,” the minister said.
Romania imported 30% of its gas from Russia in 2021, a larger volume than the previous year.
Amid fears Romania was becoming too dependent on Russia, the energy minister said: “Starting this year, we will have an extra billion cubic meters of gas.”
Romania’s state-controlled oil and gas producer Romgaz is expected to complete the purchase of ExxonMobil’s 50% stake in the Neptun Deep offshore gas exploration project.
The Neptun Deep Block covers an area of approximately 7,500 square kilometers in water depths ranging from 100-1,700 meters.
BSOG, which is controlled by private equity firm Carlyle Group LP, plans to extract an estimated total of 10 billion cubic meters of gas.
Romania hopes that it will extract more gas that its domestic needs and become important energy supplier.
Romania to offer energy infrastructure to EU to reduce dependence on Russian gas
