Romanian government officials have promised the investors involved in offshore gas projects in the Black Sea that the offshore legislation would improve after the parliamentary elections.

"We have held discussions with producers and investors in the Black Sea, to whom we promised that we would improve the offshore legislation immediately after we have another structure in Parliament. Thus, the investors will be able to recover their investments by working in a stable, predictable, and, most importantly, non-retroactive legislation," said Niculae Havrilet, a state secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Hotnews.ro reported.

He argued Romania must speed up using its gas resources before the European Union bans the use of gas, as it has done with the coal.

There is already a draft agreed with investors interested in Black Sea gas, Havrilet assured, speaking of a win-win relationship with the investors.

OMV Petrom and ExxonMobil have repeatedly delayed their final investment decision for the Neptun Deep perimeter, while BSOG, controlled by the US fund Carlyle, prepares for starting production around the end of 2021. Both investors expect a change in the offshore legislation before taking further steps.

Meanwhile, Romania has recently gained a rival in the Black Sea. Turkey announced the discovery of the largest natural gas field "in its history", estimated at 320 billion cubic meters. For comparison, the gas reserves in the Romanian Black Sea area are estimated at about 200 billion cubic meters.

(Photo: Flyingrussian/ Dreamstime)

andrei@romania-insider.com