All conditions will be in place for Romania to become a natural gas hub once production in the Black Sea starts, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Committee on the Environment and Ecological Balance Virgil Popescu, a former energy minister, said on Monday."All conditions will be in place for Romania to become a natural gas hub and I am convinced that we will manage to be a natural gas hub once production in the Black Sea starts," Popescu told the Natural Gas Forum 2023 by Financial Intelligence.Regarding the hydrogen projects, Popescu said that Romania is at the beginning in terms of hydrogen production."We had a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) regarding the production of hydrogen. A call for projects has been resumed - I understand that it is currently being evaluated - in my opinion, hydrogen is the fuel of the future, it is a non-polluting fuel. Obviously, we still have a long way to go to get there, to use hydrogen on a large scale, but hydrogen production facilities have to be developed. In my conversations with Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria about that electric power cable - and maybe you're wondering about this transition to electric energy, to this bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea - we are talking about renewable energy, and the discussions were about producing hydrogen from this green energy and trying - after a feasibility study - to see what is more cost-effective: to bring renewable energy to Romania through that cable, to produce hydrogen here or to produce hydrogen, for example, in Georgia and transport that hydrogen across the Black Sea. As you can see, we are preparing in all ways, so that Romania may become an important node in European hydrogen production. I believe in hydrogen and I am convinced that Romania will manage to become an important node of hydrogen production and hydrogen transport in Europe," said Popescu.OMV Petrom and Romgaz announced this summer that they will invest up to EUR 4 billion in the development stage of the Neptun Deep project, which will generate a production of about 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas. OMV Petrom is the operator, with each of the companies holding a 50% stake in the project. The first production is estimated in 2027. The peak production is put at 8 billion cubic metres annually (about 140,000 boe/day), for about 10 years.
Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview on Wednesday, December 17, that there should be no statute of limitations in cases of serious corruption. The statement comes after a Recorder investigation, which showed that several heads of the major institutions in the Romanian justice system allegedly delayed trials for years until wrongdoings were […]
President Nicușor Dan has challenged, before the Constitutional Court (CCR), the constitutionality of the law that requires that at least 40% of the athletes who play on a team in official national competitions be Romanian. Dan noted that the law violates the principle of non-discrimination and the free movement of workers, enshrined both in the […]
Craiova International Airport will open its new passenger terminal on Thursday, December 18, completing a major infrastructure investment aimed at significantly expanding capacity and improving air connectivity in southwestern Romania. It is part of a broader expansion and modernization project financed through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (POIM) 2014–2020, with a total value exceeding EUR […]
Romania is set to be connected to the Western European energy network thanks to grid investments worth EUR 30 billion. The funds will be provided by the EU by 2035, and the project will link Romania to Hungary and Austria in a joint project. Romanian energy minister Bogdan Ivan signaled the signing of the new […]
Franck Bagouet has been appointed managing director of TotalEnergies Marketing Romania SA and managing director of Automotive Southeast Europe Hub TotalEnergies Marketing. He succeeds Didier Grimault, who has accepted a new position within the TotalEnergies company. “I am glad to join this dynamic affiliate and confident that, together with our talented team, we will reinforce […]
Databricks, the data analytics and artificial intelligence company co-founded by Romanian professors Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, announced on Tuesday, December 16, that it is raising USD 4 billion in funding at a valuation of USD 134 billion, according to CNBC. The new valuation represents a 34% increase compared to the August round, when Databricks […]
