Romania has not yet approved a National Energy Strategy (SEN), which defines the medium and long term objectives of the natural gas sector and the ways to achieve them, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the national economy, informs a performance audit on the implementation of strategies and policies in the field of natural gas investment and production, conducted between February 2022 and May 2023, by the Court of Accounts.During the audit engagement , which covered the period 2017-2021, the auditors found that the Ministry of Energy did not monitor the achievement of the objectives set by the old strategic document (SEN 2007-2020), which expired almost three years ago.Domestic gas production decreased by 16.81% between 2017-2021, while the amount imported more than tripled during the audited period. Due to the higher volume of imported gas, a deficit in the national trade balance of 2.056 billion euros (import of 2.335 billion euros - export of 279.5 million euros) was recorded in 2017-2021.The Court of Accounts mentions that the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM) has not initiated public calls for tenders for the concession of oil operations since 2010, although it has been noted that there are free geographical areas for the concession of operations (68 perimeters).Investments in the construction of natural gas distribution networks were not completed in all cases within the agreed deadlines, nor were investments in the development of storage facilities carried out at the planned level.Among the positive aspects noted during the audit were the unblocking of the offshore gas exploitation projects in the Black Sea and the achievement of the objective to involve Romgaz SA in the Neptun Deep project, the increase in the length of the transmission pipelines by 6.81% (906.5 km), the exceeding of the drilling work programmes undertaken by Romgaz SA within the exploration programmes (141.86% completion rate).
On Monday, December 23, Romanian police brought Nica Robert Florin back to the country. The man convicted of possession of high-risk drugs, bodily harm, and driving under the influence of alcohol, is listed among Romania’s Most Wanted category and was also wanted internationally. Romanian authorities revealed at the beginning of October that they had indications […]
An investigation by the famous British newspaper Financial Times revealed that the campaign of former Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was supported by a Russian network also used during the pandemic in France and Germany to instill fear of vaccines. The newspaper’s investigation began in continuation of those by Bulgarian and Romanian journalists at BG...
Bucharest’s District 3 City Hall will once again organize a special New Year’s Eve event in Titan Park, with a program of live concerts, multimedia shows, and even a simulation of the Northern Lights. The event, set to begin at 8:00 PM on December 31, will focus on the theme of infinity. “If you missed […]
Traffic on Lot 1 of the A7 Ploiești-Buzău highway, stretching 21 kilometers in southern Romania, was officially opened on Monday, December 23. With this opening, 102 kilometers of the total 320 kilometers of the highway are now usable. The Moldova Highway, as it has been called, is meant to connect Romania's economically underdeveloped eastern regions to […]
The Dutch technology investor Prosus NV, also the majority shareholder of Romania’s largest online retailer eMAG, is set to buy the online travel agency Despegar.com Corp, focused on Latin America, for approximately USD 1.7 billion. The purchase consideration will be funded from existing cash resources, the company said. Founded in Argentina in 1999, Despegar is one […]
The new Forestry Code, which passed the Parliament vote on December 17 and was signed into law by president Klaus Iohannis on December 20, includes provisions that protect all forests in Ilfov, the county surrounding Bucharest, making them the cornerstone of the future green belt around the capital city. Moreover, it legislates green belts nationwide, […]
