Natural gas resources in the Black Sea might be instrumental for ensuring Romania’s energy security. That is why Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta has recently visited the Ocean Endeavour rig in the Romanian waters of the Black Sea, where Exxon Mobil and Petrom are drilling for gas, approximately 200 km from the shore, and 800 deep into the sea.
The Romanian Prime Minister has hailed Exxon Mobil’s intention to be present on the Romanian gas market and has encouraged the acceleration of the drilling process. Also, he has appreciated the good collaboration between the consortium made up of Exxon Mobil and Petrom and the national natural gas carrier Transgaz.
Victor Ponta:
"Exxon – Petrom’s explorations and investments are essential to us. We are talking about huge sums. Within this perimeter alone, if the results are good, we are talking one billion dollars worth of investments and, under the agreement signed with Petrom-Exxon, we can be sure that once the exploitation of the discovered resources starts, those resources will enter our national circuit and that means that the first beneficiaries will be Romania and Moldova.”
The Romanian Prime Minister has also highlighted the big number of Romanian specialists and workers who are part of the drilling team and has encouraged their further participation in offshore energy projects.The news is good as regards the discovered reserves, and Romania needs its energy independence, the Prime Minister has stressed:
" Prospecting operations, just like the investments as such, are being carried out according to the plan. All I can wish for is for the good news so far to turn into reality. By the end of the year we will have probably known whether the resources there are significant, because Romania truly needs to be independent with regard to its energy resources.”
Resources might be used by Romania and the Republic of Moldova, connected by the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline, which is due to be rendered operational late this month. The purpose of the pipeline is to diminish these countries’ dependence on Russian gas. If the gas reserves in the Black Sea are proven to be big enough to be exploited, specialists say exploitation could start in 2020.
