Virgil Popescu : the offshore law will be amended in the present parliamentary session

The offshore law, which stops some important energy projects in the Black Sea from starting is going to be revised in the first part of this year, after many delays, stated on Friday, for Reuters, the minister of energy, Virgil Popescu.This law on offshore project taxation is the last of the restrictions imposed on the energy sector that the Bucharest Government has so far failed to amend. However, the three parties that make up the current government coalition agreed in the coalition program that the offshore law should be amended.The ministry of energy added that, after the amendment the producers will still be forced to keep 40% of the gas production in Romania.Given that Romania intends to use EU funds to remove coal and replace it with natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable energies, time is running out, Popescu said.OMV Petrom and other gas producers have spent several billions of dollars for a decade to prepare to get the gas deposits in approximately 200 billion cubic metres which are estimated to be in the continental shelf of Romania, only to see how their potential profits will be affected by an offshore tax introduced four years ago.‘If investments had started in 2018, now would have had natural gas. We lost income from taxes, the security of supply and the possibility to become a regional player. If we keep waiting, we will lose all opportunities’ said minister Virgil Popescu.Even if the gas deposits estimated of Romania cannot be compared to those of Russia, the analysts estimate that they could fight against the domineering position which the Russian group Gazprom plays now in Central Europe and Eastern Europe; it would diversify the supply sources for gas and it would bring Romania income of billions of euro.Moreover, the gas in the Black Sea would help Romania to face the present growth of prices for energy in the whole of Europe.‘The markets are connected, but the gas in the Black Sea would reduce the shock and it would give us more maneuvre space to help the households and the companies. What I want and it could be a condition, is that the final decision for investments be taken this year’ said the minister of energy.Even so, in December, the general manager of OMV Petrom, Christina Verchere, stated that the approval of the amendments to the Offshore law until the end of 2021 is vital so that the gas in the Neptun Deep be extracted. ‘If the law is not amended until the end of the year, this will delay the final decision for investments for 2023’ said Christina Verchere then. At present, OMV Petrom and ExxonMobil own the project Neptun Deep in the Black Sea in equal parts. Romgaz got to an agreement regarding the taking over of the shares of ExxonMobil and the trading would be finalized in the first part of next year. (Photo: https://www.omvpetrom.com)