OMV Petrom CEO Verchere: Romania will become largest natural gas producer in the EU

OMV Petrom CEO Verchere: Romania will become largest natural gas producer in the EU.

OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere mentioned on Thursday that in 2027 the first quantities of gas would be extracted through the Neptun Deep project and that Romania would become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union, told Agerpres.

The clarifications were made at the Victoria Palace, within the event occasioned by the announcement of OMV Petrom and Romgaz regarding the development of the Neptun Deep project, the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea area.

"2027 is the year when we expect the first gas supplies and, in time, Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union. The project will last approximately two decades and the revenues brought to the state budget will support the development of society. Neptun Deep is a strategic project both for us and for Romania. It is a challenge to which we and our partners, Romgaz, are ready to respond. We have experience as operators in deep and shallow waters and we are joining forces with the best quality suppliers around the world. Together with Romgaz we will invest up to 4 billion EUR to make Neptun Deep a success. Neptun Deep will rely on the best infrastructure, the most modern technologies, which, at the same time, protect the environment and bring safety in operations," she said.

The OMV Petrom CEO said that the announcement of the final investment decision in the Neptun Deep project represents "a new and essential chapter for Romania's energy sector." She mentioned that the project will support the "energy security" of the country, but also its transformation into a "very important player" on this market.

"The estimated production is about 30 times higher than the annual demand, which covers 4.3 million households. The estimated revenue of the Romanian state would be 20 billion EUR. Neptun Deep is a very important step for our 2030 strategy, which aims to support Romania's and the region's energy transition," she added.

Christina Verchere brought to mind that there are two commercial fields, Domino and Pelican South, which have depths between 100-1,000 metres. Ten wells will extract the natural gas, which will be delivered to a new offshore platform.

"These units will be operated remotely via a digital replica, which will allow for process safety and optimization. The gas will be processed on the onshore platform and then sent through a pipeline that will be connected to the national network," Christina Verchere mentioned.