Romanian Prime Minister Niculae Ciuca said that Romania will be able to start exporting natural gas from its Black Sea projects in 2027.
PM Ciuca explained that once the extraction of gas from the Neptun Deep perimeter starts in late 2026 or early 2027, Romania will become a natural gas exporter. He added that the Black Sea gas could also be used to boost the local petrochemical industry.
He also said that Romania is not affected by Russia’s Gazprom decision to halt natural gas deliveries to Bulgaria and Poland, but is currently looking for alternative sources. Currently, g domestic as consumption is far below the production capacity the country has. Romania is one of the few countries in Europe that benefits from a consistent gas resource, although not enough to meet its total demand. During the winter season, Romania imports about 20 % of its consumption and is currently looking for alternative sources of gas supply.
Last month, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev highlighted the importance of putting into operation a Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnection (IGB pipeline) for reducing dependence of both countries on Russian gas supplies.
IGB gas pipeline has completed its connection to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), allowing for supplies from Azerbaijan to flow to southeastern Europe.
The interconnector could see its maximum capacity driven up to a total of 5 billion cubic meters per year, in the context of rising geopolitical instability due to the military conflict in Ukraine. The pipeline could also link to planned and existing LNG terminals in the region. The interconnector is the only pipeline which directly connects Bulgaria’s natural gas market with the Southern Gas Corridor.
