No natural gas supply problems for Romania

Bucharest hails the start of the exploitation of natural gas from the Romanian Midia perimeter in the Black Sea

Roxana Vasile, 29.06.2022, 14:00

Romania is currently the least dependent country in the European Union on Russian gas, is the second largest producer of oil and gas in the EU and has large quantities of untapped natural gas in the Black Sea. The estimated volume of undersea deposits is 200 billion cubic meters. The largest quantity is in the Neptune Deep perimeter, operated by the Romanian state company Romgaz and OMV Petrom.

From there, the first gas supply could be secured in late 2026 or early 2027. Meanwhile, within the Media perimeter, about 120 kilometers off the coast of Romania, which includes the Ana and Doina deposits, the exploitation works have already started, and the five Black Sea Oil & Gas wells will provide 10% of the country’s consumption.

A subsea well in the Doina field and four in Ana are expected to extract half a billion cubic meters of gas by the end of the year. In total, through this investment, it is possible to extract 1 billion cubic meters of gas annually. In fact, the first quantities of gas have been delivered to the national system. Since June 15, when the extraction from the Ana field began, 3 million cubic meters of gas have entered the national transport system every day. Beforehand, they are brought from the Black Sea, on the coast, to the Vadu treatment plant, where they go through a process of separating the liquid phase from the gaseous one and also through a drying one.

Currently, Romania has 41% total natural gas storage capacity, and Bucharest has committed to the EU to ensure 80% by November 1st, which is the minimum required for winter. The general manager of Transgaz, Ion Sterian, said:

We will not be in the situation of other countries this winter, because we have domestic production, so there is no reason to panic. We can store 10-12 million cubic meters of gas per day. So far, we have stored 1 billion 270 million cubic meters of gas.

On the occasion of a ceremony organized, on Tuesday, in Vadu, marking the start of natural gas exploitation in the Midia perimeter, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă conveyed a message of encouragement to all foreign and Romanian companies wishing to invest in Romania:

The fact that this project will generate 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year means that we will end up covering 90% of Romania’s consumption needs. This is a remarkable leap and proves Romania’s ability to find new resources and solutions at a time when global natural gas supply is threatened by the war in Ukraine.

Romania aims to become energy independent, an energy security provider in region, but also a transport corridor for the gas and green energy in the Caspian Sea. (MI)