Romania On Track to Become EU’s Largest Gas Producer

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): Romania’s gas supply potential has seen a tremendous boost with the recent agreement between Austria’s OMV Group and Germany’s Uniper towards supply of gas from Uniper’s Black Sea project in Romania.

The five-year agreement towards supply of 15 terawatt-hours of natural gas from the Neptun Deep project off Romania's Black Sea coast comes amidst halt in Russian gas supply via Ukraine and a reduced energy purchases by the EU region countries from Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine. The total contract volume is equivalent to 1.5% of Germany’s gas imports in 2024.

Incidentally, Neptun Deep is one of the most prominent natural gas reserves in the EU region. The gas reserves are estimated at around 100 billion cubic metres (bcm). Upon commencing production in 2027, Romania is expected to become the EU’s largest gas producer. Furthermore, it will make Romania a net gas exporter for the first time. The excess exports from Romania will help neighboring countries reduce their dependence on Russian gas.

Neptun Deep’s annual production is estimated around 7-8 billion cubic meters, with potential revenues anticipated at more than $25 million.

In the meantime, the offshore gas projects in the Black Sea region are likely to face strong opposition from Russia.