The Romanian government, through the National Administration of State Reserves under the General Secretariat of the Government, has exercised its pre-emption right over part of the natural gas to be extracted by OMV Petrom from the Black Sea starting in 2027, according to Economedia.ro.

The measure covers around 5 billion cubic meters of gas over seven years from 2028, equivalent to approximately 700 million cubic meters per year, the cited source reports. Based on projected production levels, the state allocation would represent around 20-25% of OMV Petrom’s annual output, leaving the bulk of volumes available for commercial trading.

Beyond these quantities, the Romanian state, through Romgaz, will also benefit from additional gas linked to its 50% stake in the Neptun Deep offshore project alongside OMV Petrom. In this context, Romgaz is expected to optimize the use of future production volumes starting from the project’s launch phase.

One potential outlet is the Azomureş fertiliser plant, recently acquired by Romgaz from the Swiss group Ameropa, which is expected to restart operations this year. At full capacity, Azomureş could consume around 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.

Neptun Deep is estimated to hold approximately 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable reserves. Peak production, forecast around 2030, is expected at 7-8 billion cubic meters per year, which would nearly double Romania’s current domestic gas output.

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iulian@romania-insider.com