Drilling for the development and utilisation of the Pelican South and Domini gas fields in the Neptun Deep block (see photo below, taken by OMV Petrom SA) in the Black Sea, 160 km from the coast, is progressing according to plan and first gas is expected in 2027. After the ramp-up phase, Neptun Deep is expected to contribute around 8 billion cubic metres per year to Romania's gas production, allowing Romania to meet its natural gas needs from its own sources and become a major player on the European market.

The natural gas - extracted from the gas field in question, which is a major producing asset in the EU and will help to facilitate the complete phase-out of Russian gas at the end of 2027 - is looking for additional customers, according to OMV Petrom SA. This is against the background that European gas production is declining rapidly due to ageing fields, while demand remains stable despite the expansion of renewable energies.

According to Mrs Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, the company has recently signed "a few" deals/contracts - including with Germany's Uniper SE. "There are some very mature markets for this in Europe," she said on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan on Wednesday. "Buyers are interested in diversifying their portfolio. Nobody puts all their eggs in one basket anymore."

"We don't have to freeze and ship our product," she said. "We bring it directly to the European market and our operational carbon footprint is tiny compared to LNG." Natural gas liquefaction and loading - as well as unloading - are expensive intermediate steps compared to pipeline transport, with no added value. From this perspective, the natural gas produced in Romania should be competitive - apart from making an important contribution to maintaining the security of natural gas supply in the EU

Mrs Verchere did not provide further details, but optimism is the order of the day at OMV Petrom SA, a subsidiary of OMV AG.