Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz will sign the contract with US company ExxonMobil on the acquisition take of 50 % stake in Neptun Deep Black Sea gas field in the near future, after the General Shareholders Meeting , which is scheduled for 9 December, said the company’s CEO Aristotel Jude. He added that the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.
Romgaz will pay 1.06 billion dollars to take over a 50 % stake in the Neptun Deep offshore gas project in the Black Sea from the US company ExxonMobil. The Board of Directors approved the deal on 2 November, while its shareholders will vote on it on December 9. Romgaz will have to pay a deposit in the amount of 106 million dollars upon signing the share purchase agreement.
This is by far the largest takeover deal ever signed by a Romanian company. The transaction is backed by the Romanian Government, which holds 70 % stake in the company. It comes at a time when Romania is struggling to ensure its energy independence in the context of rising gas and energy prices.
ExxonMobil announced in November 2019 its intention to sell the stake in the Neptun Deep project, which holds the largest offshore gas reserves found in Romania’s Black Sea section (40 to 80 billion cubic meters). Romanian OMV Petrom, a part of Austrian OMV Group, holds the remaining 50 % in the project. The two operators have invested close to 1.5 billion dollars in exploring the perimeter but have postponed a decision on its commercial exploitation due to the new offshore law adopted in late 2018.
