Romania’s current legislation grants pre-emptive rights only over natural gas that has already been extracted, not on future gas production, according to a recent clarification from the National Administration of State Reserves and Special Issues (ANRSPS). This statement came nearly a month after OMV Petrom announced its first agreement involving gas production from the Neptun Deep project.
As a result, if all gas from the Neptun Deep perimeter is sold through forward contracts, ANRSPS will have no pre-emptive rights. This raises questions about the effectiveness of Law 256/2018, which governs Romania’s control over gas extraction.
The Offshore Law provides the Romanian state, via ANRSPS, with pre-emptive rights over gas extracted within the country. However, these rights apply only to gas that has already been extracted, not to gas reserves yet to be tapped. According to Corneliu Manu, spokesperson for ANRSPS, the focus on ensuring Romania’s energy security is more about managing currently extracted gas stocks than about future reserves.
Reports indicate that OMV Petrom, through its parent company OMV, has sold around 15 TWh of natural gas to German company Uniper under a five-year contract. However, this deal has yet to be disclosed by OMV Petrom on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The contract has raised concerns over Romania’s ability to prevent the export of Black Sea gas. A similar situation occurred with gas from the Midia perimeter, operated by BSOG, which was pre-contracted for export to Bulgaria.
The first production of gas from the Neptun Deep perimeter is expected to begin in 2027.
