Romania will be the number one gas producer in Europe from 2027, thanks to the Neptun Deep project, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said on Thursday at the 8th edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum.
„We have started to rev up investment, and Suceava – Balti, as an interconnection, is priority zero, with completion by 2027. I am confident that Transelectrica will complete this zero priority project, as well as the third line, from Gutinaj to Straseni, near Chisinau. Surely, the resilience of the Republic of Moldova to rely only on the southern interconnection with Gagauzia, Ukraine and back to the Republic of Moldova is not the best option. That is why these investments are absolutely essential and Romania is clearly committed to help. The same goes for gas interconnections. Romania has taken a leading role in the region, bringing everyone to the table and saying that we can make a reverse flow in the vertical corridor and we can supply Moldova, Ukraine and the rest of central Europe with gas coming to the terminal in Turkey, in Greece, upstream of the pipeline. Also, from 2027, thanks to Neptun Deep, Romania will be the number one gas producer in Europe. I am proud that a majority state-owned company, Romgaz, played an essential role in this project, advanced it and made the brave decision to make a billion dollar investment, initially Exxon’s share, and enter the project. I think it is on a one-way street, given the investments already made in the project and almost 90% of the contracts already signed,” the official said.
In the official’s view, Russia’s biggest enemy is Russia itself, because „it has undermined its most effective weapon against Europe, energy blackmail”.
„In my view, Russia’s worst enemy is Russia (…) Russia started the war of aggression against Ukraine absolutely unsolicited and unjustified and undermined its most effective weapon against Europe – energy blackmail. After the war began, an amazing effort was made by Ukraine, by Moldova to synchronize their systems. It is an amazing effort, because what Romania did in 8-10 years, to synchronize its energy network with the European one, happened in a few weeks or months. For our Ukrainian and Moldovan brothers it is a huge achievement. Then practically the whole of Europe had to diversify and move away from Russian energy. Of course, there are member states that chose not to diversify well, not that they had no alternatives (…) With all the investments in gas infrastructure and interconnections in our networks, Russia no longer has this weapon of blackmail, or at least it exists to a much reduced extent. It is the best proof for Moldovans that they do not have to depend on Gazprom,” the official said.
AGERPRES
