The Neptun Deep Black Sea offshore project is of strategic importance for Romania and I don’t believe that OMV Petrom will decide to opt out of the Black Sea investment, Secretary of State with the Energy Ministry George Niculescu told a specialist conference on Tuesday, according to Agerpres.

„I don’t believe that OMV Petrom will decide not to invest. I don’t see why we would postpone this project more than it has already been postponed. I consider this project is of strategic importance for Romania and I don’t see why any company would defer this decision. Romania is not at war. We have absolutely no conflict in Romania. Romania’s Black Sea economic zone is outside the war in Ukraine. We have a presence as consistent as possible. Romania is a healthy environment for investments, both in hydrocarbons and in other energy technologies,” Niculescu declared.

Early this February, OMV Petrom CEO Cristina Verchere announced in a press conference that the final investment decision regarding the Neptun Deep project will be taken in the middle of this year and that they „are closer than ever to kicking off this project”.

On the other hand, when asked if he could confirm that Lukoil intends to leave Romania, Niculescu said that „this is a decision the company’s management is indeed considering”.

He added that the Energy Ministry is constantly in discussions with the companies in the energy sector, and that the recently introduced taxation decisions are just for a specific period.

Representatives of the energy sector’s authorities and companies participate between February 21 and 23 in the event „ZF Power Summit 2023: Romania, the Region, the Union: Investment Directions and Regional Strategic Projects that Will Redefine the European Energy Sector”.

Agerpres