The price of gas has risen, making shale gas exploitation profitable, and Romania has a huge chance to increase its energy security and reduce the price of gas by exploiting unconventional gas, says the Intelligent Energy Association (AEI), which calls on the authorities to start an unconventional gas exploration strategy.
Romania has proven onshore gas reserves of about 100 billion cubic meters and reserves of about 120 billion cubic meters in the Black Sea, according to ANRM, and also unconventional gas reserves of about 1.444 billion cubic meters, according to International Energy Agency estimates (IEA).
“Romania consumes approximately 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually, a quantity assured in proportion of 76% of the domestic production. The difference is imported from Russia, through Hungary and Bulgaria. Even in the context of the exploitation of Black Sea gas, taking into account the current policy of “free connection” and conversion of coal-fired power plants to gas, Romania will remain dependent on imported gas,” said AEI officials.
“In this context, the evolution of prices and the large discrepancy between supply and demand, the reduction of energy security, we consider important for Romania’s energy and social security the analysis by the government of the opportunity to exploit unconventional gas.”
In 2013, in Pungești, Vaslui County, the American company Chevron started exploring to highlight shale gas. The exploration ended with a strong lobby, of which Gazprom was no stranger, according to sources consulted by Energynomics.
“The action was stopped by the movement of the villagers in the area. Believing that the foreigners would poison their water, the inhabitants of the poorest county of the country put themselves in the way of the drilling company’s equipment. After this event, the state representatives forgot this resource of Romania… so that such events do not happen again. Opposition to the shale gas exploration was based on the lack of information of the citizens and on the way in which the action to support the exploration drilling was carried out. The exploration of shale gas, as well as the exploration of other resources must be carried out in compliance with specific measures to protect the environment, and is not a danger to the lives of people in the area and can be resumed in Romania especially in this context of gas shortages and hugh prices of gas. We ask the authorities to start a strategy for exploring unconventional gases in order to ensure the need for gas in Romania and the region and to ensure decent prices for consumers,” AEI officials also said.
