The filling rate in storage facilities exceeds 101%, higher than the European average, and this winter Romania is even in a better position than last year, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said on Monday.

„With certainty, we are prepared for the 2024-2025 winter, and we are doing even better than last year (in terms of natural gas stock). We are still in overfill, with a filling rate of over 101%, more than the European average. In fact, this is one of the areas where Romania has excelled, and we have met this obligation 70 days ahead of the deadline set by the European Commission for all member states. We are also prepared in terms of increasing production. I can tell you, for the first time, that the CEO of Romgaz, Mr. Popescu [Razvan Popescu], is today at Caragele, where the Damianca Well 55 will be brought into operation. Furthermore, Romgaz’s production increase, and I congratulate our company for this, is due to the increased production at Caragele. This is an investment programme worth over one billion lei. We expect even better news in the near future. I can’t reveal more, as it is a listed company, but what is certain is that if we have gas on land, we must definitely exploit it, and we are all waiting for the exploitation of Black Sea gas, a project that is on schedule. Most of the contracts, I believe over 95-98%, have already been signed, and the project schedule is in good order,” said Burduja at the 6th edition of the Natural Gas Forum.

According to the official, there is currently a more pragmatic approach to the energy transition at the international level.

„There are two international events recently. First, the Draghi Report. That correctly and concretely said that the European Union has a problem in terms of competitiveness because energy prices are three times higher than in the U.S. or China, and it’s hard to compete with companies from these countries if you don’t have competitive energy. The second event is the election or re-election of Donald Trump as president of the U.S. From both perspectives, we see a more pragmatic approach to the energy transition. Gas is a transitional fuel. How long this transition will last, we will all see. But Romania has a tradition in this sector. Romania has resources, and we must fight to use these resources in the short and medium term. The logic is simple, and you can find it in the National Energy Strategy. I inform you that we are at the final stages of approval, and in the near future, I hope we will have the good news that Romania will finally have a National Energy Strategy, adopted by Government Decision,” the minister said.

He added that a way to add value to the gas extracted from the Black Sea through the Neptun Deep project must be considered.

„The exploitation of gas from Neptun Deep is a major achievement of Minister Popescu [Virgil Popescu, former Energy minister] and Romgaz, which took on the task of acquiring Exxon’s stake and investing one billion dollars. An investment that faced some criticism at the time, but which now we all benefit from, because we have a chance to double Romania’s gas production to 18-20 billion cubic meters by 2027. Now we must think about how to add value to this gas. One option is to transform it into electricity, and the Mintia project is a great opportunity in this regard. Also, Isalnita, where, unfortunately, we did not receive any bids in the recent auction, but we are preparing to relaunch the bidding. We may increase the amount based on current regulations, and I am confident we will succeed in awarding the contract in a few months. Also, at Turceni, where there were some delays, plus the modernisation of CET plants. The PNRR finances CET plants in Constanta, Arad, Ramnicu Valcea, and Craiova, the most important of which is 300 megawatts. From the Modernisation Fund, this month we will have good news for Bucharest residents: we will sign contracts for the three CET plants remaining in the 1960s and 1970s in Bucharest: CET Sud, CET Progresu, and CET Grozavesti,” emphasised Sebastian Burduja.

Financial Intelligence is organising, on Monday, the 6th edition of the event „The Natural Gas Forum – The Contribution of Natural Gas to Industrial Competitiveness in the Context of the Energy Transition.”

AGERPRES