Romania is hindering further offshore gas exploration in the Black Sea by not auctioning off new blocks, the chief executive of an offshore gas project said on Tuesday.
The European Union and NATO member has an estimated 200 billion cubic metres of gas in the Black Sea that promise to help diversify supply in the region as it weans itself off Russian gas, as well as potential for further discoveries.
However, Romania's state agency for mineral resources last tendered offshore exploration blocks in 2010. A plan to hold a new auction was suspended around five years ago due to overlapping legal provisions.
While Russia's invasion of Ukraine four years ago has complicated energy and trade plans in the Black Sea, investors' interest in gas has remained strong.
Black Sea Oil & Gas, controlled by private equity firm Carlyle Group LP, launched Romania's first offshore Black Sea development in three decades in 2022, after winning an exploration tender in 2010, producing about 10% of Romania's annual consumption.
The company is also working on renewable energy projects.
"We would very much like to continue to explore and produce in the Black Sea because this is a fabulous place," BSOG chief executive Mark Beacom told a conference held by the Economist.
"It has huge opportunities for gas, and yet you cannot get a concession. There's basically a moratorium on doing that. And we are a ready investor, we have infrastructure, we see the opportunity, and yet we can't get another concession because it's blocked."
The state agency for mineral resources did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Speaking at the same conference earlier on Tuesday, Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said he would like to attract U.S. companies to future Black Sea gas projects.
Romania's flagship offshore gas project is Neptun Deep, jointly owned by OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV, and state gas producer Romgaz, which will double the country's annual production from 2027 and turn it into a net exporter.
Earlier this month, industry sources told Reuters Ukraine's Naftogaz, which discovered "substantial" offshore gas reserves in the Black Sea before Russia's invasion, was in talks with OMV Petrom about developing the field.
(Reuters)
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