Drilling has officially begun at Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea, its owners announced on Tuesday. This milestone sets one of the EU’s largest gas deposits on track to begin production by 2027, potentially easing Europe’s transition away from Russian gas.
The project is a joint venture between OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of Austria’s OMV, and Romania’s state-owned Romgaz. Neptun Deep is estimated to contain 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas. According to the Romanian Energy Ministry, the project will double the country’s gas production and could turn Romania into a net exporter of gas at a time when the European Union is reducing its reliance on Russian energy.
However, while Neptun Deep could help diversify gas supply for Central and Eastern Europe, the extent to which new gas from the project will be available for export remains uncertain. Romania’s domestic consumption is expected to rise as onshore reserves decrease.
Currently, Romania produces just over nine billion cubic meters of gas annually, with consumption slightly under 10 billion. This gap is expected to grow as new gas-fired power plants, totaling 3.5 gigawatts, are set to come online by 2030, replacing coal power.
The Energy Ministry predicts that domestic gas consumption will rise by 25% from 2023 to 2030. Sorin Elisei, General Director at the Ministry of Energy Strategy, told Reuters, “We estimate a 75% increase in domestic production by 2027, which will free up gas for export, helping Romania become a key energy provider in the region.”
Eugenia Gusilov, an energy analyst at the Romania Energy Center, noted that the local market may not be able to absorb all of the new gas. She added that the potential surplus for export could range from four to five billion cubic meters, which, while not huge, would significantly contribute to diversifying gas supply in the region.
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