Romania remained the second-biggest gas producer in the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of this year, according to a report of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy quoted by Agerpres.

The EU’s gas production went down by 23% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2019, to 16 billion cubic meters.

The Netherlands, EU’s biggest gas producer after Brexit, reduced its gas production by a third, to 7.2 billion cubic meters.

Romania had a production of 2.5 billion cubic meters, down 5% year-on-year, followed by Germany, with 1.3 billion cubic meters and Italy – 1.1 billion cubic meters.

“In addition to low gas demand, production in the Netherlands and other EU countries was also affected by cheaper LNG imports,” the report shows.

Net gas imports in the EU declined by 6% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2019 as the consumption also went down by 5%.

In Romania, the gas consumption went down by 20%.

Romania is one of the few EU countries that covers most of its gas consumption from the domestic production.

(Photo: Gerasymenko/ Dreamstime)

editor@romania-insider.com