Vulpescu (BVB): Neptun Deep to make Romania energy-independent, EU's largest gas producer

 The Neptun Deep project, jointly developed by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, will ensure that Romania becomes the European Union's largest natural gas producer and achieves energy independence, Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) CEO Remus Vulpescu said on Thursday."An important aspect that the listing of state-owned enterprises can demonstrate over time is just how beneficial this has been. Petrom is a success story that began more than 20 years before Hidroelectrica, demonstrating the benefits that listing state-owned enterprises on the Bucharest Stock Exchange has brought to the Romanian economy and Romanian society as a whole. So congratulations to the Bucharest Stock Exchange for its sustained performance over these 25 years, and congratulations to Petrom for being such an outstanding example of success," Vulpescu said."Looking to the near future, we are certainly very proud to have Petrom as one of the most important companies listed on the main market and one of the stars of the BET index and other Bucharest Stock Exchange indices. Investors are pleased with Petrom's financial performance and, at a deeper level, the foundations are being laid for sustainable performance in the future, perhaps for the next 50 years, why not?" he added.According to Vulpescu, the development of Neptun Deep by OMV Petrom and Romgaz will ensure that Romania becomes the largest natural gas producer in the European Union and achieves energy independence."Petrom's flagship project is Neptun Deep, an enormous project both financially and physically. It covers 7,500 square kilometres - a project worth building and worth defending, a project Romania possesses, where Petrom, together with Romgaz, will ensure that Romania becomes the largest gas producer in the European Union and an energy-independent nation. So there is a great deal of work to be done and much more success to build. But today we are celebrating the success of Petrom and the Bucharest Stock Exchange together over the past 25 years," the BVB chief said.BVB and OMV Petrom organised an anniversary event on Thursday marking 25 years since shares in the integrated energy producer began trading on Romania's capital market.OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe and the second-largest company on the Bucharest Stock Exchange by market capitalisation. In the retail petroleum products market, the group operates in Romania and neighbouring countries through around 780 filling stations under the OMV and Petrom brands.OMV Petrom is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange with a free float of 28.1%. At the end of 2025, Romanian shareholders held around 45% of the company's shares, including a 20.7% stake held by the Romanian state, while Romanian pension funds and other Romanian individuals and legal entities held 24.4%.OMV Aktiengesellschaft held 51.2% of OMV Petrom shares, with the remaining 3.7% held by other foreign investors.