The global energy sector will turn its attention to the Black Sea, with the recent gas discoveries of Turkey and Bulgaria, the Economy, Energy and Business minister Virgil Popescu said on Monday, at the opening of the FOREN 2020 online conference.

“Here in Romania, when we talk about energy, we talk about energy security, meaning oil, gas and electricity. If we talk about oil, things are simple, we have onshore reserves, anyone can buy oil by ship, at sea. But when we talk gas, things are more complicated, we are talking about geopolitics,” the official said.

He reminded that Romania has onshore gas reserves and recently discovered new deposits in the Black Sea.

“We are very happy that our Turkish friends have discovered gas in the Black Sea, as well as the Bulgarians, and we are proud to be in the Black Sea region, and the Black Sea offers new gas resources. The focus of the energy world, the energy sector will be on the Black Sea,” said Popescu, according to Agerpres.

“In terms of electricity, in the context of the Green Deal, we need to resize our energy production. We have a good mix, but 25% is on coal, we need to find a transition fuel. Gas is the most suitable fuel for transition,” he said, at the opening of FOREN.

He recalled Romania’s potential in the offshore wind sector.

“We need to produce electricity from renewable sources, and in the Black Sea we have, in addition to gas, offshore wind potential. One of our directions is to build offshore wind farms, such as those that already exist at the North Sea,” Popescu said.