Romanians could benefit from gas discoveries in Turkey, which will increase competition in the region and determine the construction of an infrastructure that could be used by our country, says Răzvan Nicolescu, senior expert in the energy sector of the consulting company Deloitte and former minister of Energy.

On Friday, Turkey announced the discovery of deposits estimated at 320 billion cubic meters of gas in the Black Sea, near the perimeter of Neptun Deep of Romanian territorial waters.

“Regionally, these discoveries mean the possibility of having more gas sources starting, probably, by 2025. I am concerned about the chances of achieving our neighbors’ goal of having production in 2023. This discovery could be a beneficial thing for consumers in the region and problematic for companies and countries that produce or want to do so,” said Nicolescu.

Regarding the implications for Romania, the Deloitte specialist pointed out that the new discoveries represent a good thing for consumers and risks and greater competition for producers.

“Romania’s problem is not the discovery of our Turkish neighbors and allies, but the lack of strategy and action in relation to what we want to do,” Nicolescu said, according to Agerpres.

Asked if the new findings reduce the chances of the Neptun Deep project, he replied: “Yes and no. There will be more competition but also a chance to use an infrastructure built by our neighbors. It is a principle of economic efficiency. It makes not too much sense to build two highways from Constanta to Bucharest in parallel. It could be the other way around, that is, the Turkish neighbors use our infrastructure. But we have blocked investments, giving up the advantage of being more advanced. They seem very enthusiastic. We will see what happens. I think it is good to talk to them and try to work for our benefit and theirs.”