Austrian group OMV has reached a deal to supply natural gas from its Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea to German company Uniper from 2027, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Europe looks for new ways to boost its energy security after a rift with Russia.
The five-year deal for 15 terawatt-hours of natural gas from the Neptun Deep project, which was not previously disclosed, comes after Russia stopped delivering gas through Ukraine last month and after a broader reduction in EU energy purchases from the country due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The total volume of the contract represents approximately 1.5% of Germany’s gas imports in 2024 and would be the first supply agreement from the long-awaited deep-sea gas extraction project, more than a decade after gas was first discovered in Romania’s section of the Black Sea.
Neptun Deep, which is expected to start production in 2027, holds around 100 billion cubic metres of recoverable gas, making it one of the EU’s most important natural gas fields.
Once operational, Romania will become the EU’s largest gas producer and a net gas exporter for the first time. OMV Petrom, which is majority-owned by OMV, with Romania holding a 20.7% stake, first announced it had discovered 42-84 billion cubic metres of gas in the Black Sea in 2012.
Uniper declined to comment. Neither OMV nor OMV Petrom responded to a request for comment. OMV Petrom and state producer Romgaz, which own the Neptun Deep project in equal shares, approved the project in 2023.
Production from the platform will be about 8 bcm per year for about 10 years, almost doubling Romania’s gas output. The producers plan to sell the gas separately, but under Romanian law the government will have a right of first refusal on gas extracted from the project.
The gas producers have said there is huge potential for further discoveries in Romania’s territorial waters in the Black Sea, where the country has reserves of about 200 billion cubic meters, which promise to help diversify supply in the region.
Romanian Energy Ministry confirms: “It reflects Romania’s commitment to contributing to European energy security”
The Ministry of Energy confirms that OMV Petrom has signed an agreement to export gas from the Black Sea to Germany and claims that this export is part of the business plan of the Neptun Deep project and reflects Romania’s commitment to contributing to European energy security. At the same time, the ministry representatives emphasize that there is no danger that Romanians will be left without natural gas.
“For complete clarification and to allay any concerns, we would like to emphasize that the volume exported to Germany, according to publicly available data, represents less than 1% of the total estimated production of the Neptun Deep field. This is a tiny proportion, as Neptun Deep has reserves estimated at over 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Moreover, these estimates may increase significantly as drilling operations progress. We ensure that this resource will be used responsibly for the benefit of Romania and our citizens. Each partner in the project, both Romgaz and OMV Petrom, is responsible for its own decisions to market the gas exploited in the future, under the law and while protecting Romania’s energy security,” according to the ministry.
The export is part of the Neptun Deep project’s business plan and reflects Romania’s commitment to contributing to European energy security, the institution’s representatives claim. (January 8, 2025, Source: https://www.romaniajournal.ro/business/omv-to-supply-germany-with-romanian-black-sea-gas-by-2027/)
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