Energy Strategy: Developing offshore deposits in Black Sea, necessary to avoid increase of dependence on gas imports

The development of offshore deposits discovered in the Black Sea is necessary in order to avoid the significant increase of dependence on gas imports and represents a sine-qua-non condition to be able to rely on natural gas in the electricity mix, according to the project "Romania's energy strategy 2019-2030, with an outlook to 2050", published by the relevant ministry. "To avoid the creation of significant dependence on imports, be they available from alternative sources and via alternative routes, it is necessary to develop offshore deposits discovered in recent years in the Black Sea. This is a sine-qua-non condition to be able to rely on natural gas in the electricity mix," the project mentions. According to the document, the additional resources of natural gas from the onshore and offshore deposits are provided for in Romania's energy mix in all the scenarios, except for the unlikely one in which low prices are to be maintained for a longer period, something that would not justify furthering the investment. The exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in the Black Sea will make a major contribution to ensuring Romania's energy security. The quantitative levels accumulated from conventional onshore and offshore production can have the potential to be in excess as compared to the current estimated level of the domestic market demand. Thus, the project mentions, Romania aims to increase the consumption of natural gas in the domestic industry and the export of finished products that also use natural gas as a raw material. The strategy also indicates that, in the short and medium term, in view of the creation of steady reserves of crude oil and natural gas, Romania can assume as a matter of priority investments in technologies aimed at increasing the degree of recovery from existing deposits, and in the long term, in developing exploration projects in depth areas (below 3,000 m), projects in the onshore with a complex geology and of offshore deposits in the Black Sea. According to the document, natural gas production will decline, after reaching a new peak of 132 TWh in 2025, due to production in the Black Sea, oft 96 TWh in 2030 and 65 TWh in 2050. AGERPRES (RO - publisher: Nicoleta Gherasim; EN - author: Simona Iacob)