Romania's largest oil and gas companies, OMV Petrom and Romgaz, will have to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacities of 9 million tonnes per year out of a total target of 50 million tonnes for the entire European Union by 2030, under the Net Zero Energy Industry Act, according to the National Oil and Gas Employers' Federation (FPPG) quoted by Cursdeguvernare.ro. Only the Netherlands was assigned a higher CCS capacity to develop.

The national quotas were assigned proportionally with the oil and gas production in 2020-2023.

Developing such capacities would cost the two Romanian companies EUR 4.5 billion, while the total cost of operating the capacities over 20 years would bring the budget to EUR 15 billion, according to estimates of the Oil and Gas Employers' Federation (FPPG). 

However, this would bring benefits to the two companies, as well, because the carbon-generating industries (such as the cement industry) will have to store the CO2 they generate in exchange for a fee equal to the price of the CO2 certificates currently traded at EUR 60/ton. With economies of scale achieved in the CCS industry and the rising cost of CO2 certificates, the CCS business' economics is improving. 

Romania has a significant underground storage potential in depleted hydrocarbon deposits, managed by oil and gas producers (approximately 500 million tonnes), but also in other geological formations. In addition to these depleted fields, there may be even greater storage potential in other geological formations (aquifer salt flats) and under the Black Sea (gas fields in the Neptun Deep perimeter, which at the end of their life may serve as storage sites) 

Romanian oil and gas producers such as OMV Petrom and Romgaz have expressed increasing interest in developing storage capacities.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Adel Al-Haddad)