The BSOG, set up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and private equity group Carlyle, was approved by the national energy regulator on Wednesday to launch the Midea natural gas extraction project. Prime Minister Nikolai Siuka also welcomed the start of extraction of natural gas reserves under the continental shelf of the Black Sea.
The gas extracted from the Midea gas field will cover 10 percent of the country’s needs and bring Romania closer to achieving energy independence
– Read the government communication.
The Midea natural gas field is located approximately 120 km from the Romanian coast. The sea is shallow here, the depth of the base is 70 meters. Natural gas was discovered in this area in 1995 and 2007, respectively. The Agerpres news agency reported that the required investment of $400 million for the extraction was made between 2018 and 2022.
According to BSOG, about 0.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be produced this year, and an estimated 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves are in the Midea region. Over the next three years, it is planned to appear 1 billion cubic meters per year. The company has installed five sensors under the sea and is delivering the extracted gas to them via a 126-kilometre offshore pipeline. Significant gas reserves are found elsewhere under the Roman continental shelf in the Black Sea.
Recently, Romanian media has been primarily concerned with the fate of the promising deep-sea natural gas field Neptune, where two companies with mining rights, OMV-Petrom in Austria and Romgaz in Romania, plan to bring in ten billion cubic meters. of gas to the surface every year. In the region of Neptune, 170 kilometers from the Roman coast and covering an area of 7,500 square kilometers, the depth of the sea in some places reaches 1,700 meters.
Investments to start mining have been delayed so far because investors expected Romania to provide them with more favorable tax treatment.
After the issuance of the new maritime law, the Romanian Prime Minister expressed the hope that extraction will begin in the Neptune Deep natural gas field by the end of 2026 and early 2027, so that Romania will not have enough gas to live in and within. Industrial consumption, but will also be able to export.
