Romgaz’s Board of Directors approved the conclusion of the sale-purchase contract of all shares issued by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, which holds 50% of the acquired rights and obligations assumed by the Oil Agreement for the eastern area, deep water area, perimeter offshore XIX Neptune in the Black Sea, the company announced.

One more step remains: approval of the contract at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS). The EGMS was convened on 28.04.2022, and the completion of the transaction is conditioned by the fulfillment of the conditions precedent in the contract. Although the original contract had been approved on December 10, 2021, the introduction of tax risk clauses required a resumption of the process.

The purchase price paid by Romgaz will be about $1.06 billion, and can be adjusted according to the mechanisms provided in the share sale-purchase agreement.

“The Neptune Deep project in the Black Sea is a strategic opportunity for Romania, representing an important source of natural gas in order to ensure the energy security of our country. The current geopolitical and energetic context gives the project an even more special significance. We intend to complete the transaction in the second quarter of this year, so that together with the future partner we can move, in the shortest possible time, to the development-exploitation phase,” said the General Manager of Romgaz, Aristotel Jude.

“In this context, we estimate that the first natural gas production resulting from the perimeter XIX Neptun, the deep water area, to be obtained at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. In the development strategy of SNGN ROMGAZ SA, 2021-2030, we included as a priority the completion of the Neptun Deep transaction as well as investments in other development projects onshore and from renewable energy sources, in the context of European green energy policies.”