A technical dialogue to explore the opportunities regarding the production of blue ammonia in Romania has been initiated, and if we capitalize on the natural gas resources in our country, we will gain from an economic point of view, the Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Stefan-Radu Oprea says.

„I believe that together we can identify projects that will capitalize on Romanian gas! We have thus initiated a technical dialogue to coagulate efforts and to explore the opportunities regarding blue ammonia, based on the expertise of each participant in the discussions. Currently, we observe a macro-economic imbalance in the commercial balance of fertilizers. Moreover, it is known that, for the productions polluted by CO2, including those from the fertilizer industry, additional taxes will be imposed at the EU level, which will make imports more expensive. If we exploit natural gas resources from Romania, our country will gain from an economic point of view. At the same time, we must not forget that we have a historical advantage in the oil industry, hosting the first refinery in the world. Thus, carbon storage could be a viable solution.” said Oprea, quoted in a press release of the institution, sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

On Monday, July 1, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, specialists from the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forestry gathered in a workshop dedicated to exploring the possibilities of developing a project for the production of blue ammonia at the national level , the Romanian Agency for Investments and Foreign Trade (ARICE) – London Commercial and Economic Promotion Office, the Romgaz company, as well as experts from Fertilizer Industrial Services, namely Dan Cojocaru – Ammonia process safety expert and Bogdan Bretescu – Reliability & Maintenance Advisor.

According to the competent ministry, the discussions started with an exchange of ideas regarding the identification of the best options to exploit, as profitably as possible for Romania, the gases from the Black Sea, and a solution with major benefits can be represented by a project to produce blue ammonia.

According to experts, a potential starting point could be at the chemical plant in Turnu Magurele, where there is already its own port, storage capacities, access to railways and roads, as well as a large area of available land. At the same time, the chemical fertilizer plant, although relatively small (emitting 317,000 tons/year), is ideally located to integrate into the proposed cluster in the southwest.

The development of the project could take between three and five years, and its completion could coincide with the start of gas extraction from the Black Sea.

In this context, a working group will be established, whose activity will be coordinated by the competent ministry. Its composition will include representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of the Environment and Romgaz, together with Fertilizer Industrial Services consultants.

At the same time, participation invitations will be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the National Agency for Mineral Resources, the National Research-Development Institute for Pedology, Agrochemistry and Environmental Protection, CONPET and OMV Petrom.

AGERPRES