PM Ciuca: Romania not immediately affected if Russia discontinues gas supplies

Romania is not affected by Russia's Gazprom decision to halt natural gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland. Still, the country is currently looking for alternative sources, prime minister Nicolae Ciuca saidon April 27 after the gas supplies to the two European countries were cut on the grounds that they failed to pay for the gas in rubles.

PM Ciuca explained that Romania would not be hurt by a similar decision during the warm period of the year, but it would need to find alternative solutions for the winter period, which is not something new in principle.

"Romania is not affected at this moment. Gas consumption is far below the production capacity we have. We are one of the few countries in Europe that benefits from a consistent gas resource, although not enough to meet our total need. In the winter period, we import about 20% of the necessary natural gas. We are currently looking for alternative sources of gas supply," he stated.

Separately, PM Ciuca confirmed that Romania will be able to start exporting natural gas from the Black Sea offshore project Neptun Deep in 2027, Seenews.com reported.

However, OMV Petrom has not confirmed yet that the new Offshore Law would unblock the investment decision on the Neptun deep project. Similarly, Black Sea Oil and Gas, which is supposed to start production at its Midia perimeter in Romania's Black Sea, has not commented on the new Offshore Law. Earlier this year, BSOG warned of asking for international arbitration in the case of Romania's Offshore Law.

(Photo: Sergei Ryjkov/ Dreamstime)