Energy Minister Virgil Popescu announced that Romania intends to accelerate the process of eliminating the ban that prevents the sale of shares to the most profitable companies. The head of Energy specified that the Government will eliminate, until July, the law that blocks the sale of state assets, as in February a legislative act aimed at annulling the law adopted by the previous administration was blocked in the Parliament.

The lifting of the ban will allow Hidroelectrica to begin preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) that could take place later this year or early 2022, the minister added.

“The political will exists and we will keep our promises, but the parliamentary procedure must be followed. I recently had a discussion with my colleagues and we will pass the law later this on month, in order to be able to resume the procedure of listing a 15% package,” he said, according to Agerpres.

At the same time, the new coalition government wants to start talks to amend the Law on Offshore Deposits. The amended law could be approved either in a special parliamentary session in the summer, or in September, when parliamentarians return from vacation. These changes are essential to a multi-billion dollar Black Sea gas project. The project was frozen by OMV Petrom and the American partner Exxon Mobil, the latter even making the decision to withdraw from the Neptune project. The state company Romgaz is discussing the takeover of Exxon Mobil’s 50% stake in the Neptun project, after making a final offer.

“I am optimistic that Romgaz will reach an agreement with Exxon and we will be able to extract natural gas,” Virgil Popescu added.