Romgaz should take over ExxonMobil’s participation in the Neptune Deep project in the Black Sea, in case the Americans decide to withdraw from Romania, Iulian Iancu, chairman of the Committee on Industries and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, said on Thursday.

He attended the conference “Energy Transition 2019” and, at the departure, was asked by journalists what his opinion was on the modification of the offshore law. “I think there must be a trans-party consensus on this law. I also think that if ExxonMobil finally decides to withdraw from Romania, the Romanian state should get involved, and Romgaz should take over their participation. ExxonMobil has never ruled out a collaboration with Romgaz in this regard,” said Iancu, quoted by Agerpres.

According to him, Romgaz has the ability to take over the participation of Americans in the deep sea project at the Black Sea. “If you look at Romgaz’s deposit portfolio and the results of the first six months of the year, you will see that Romgaz has the capacity to take over Exxon’s stake. Romgaz can become one of the main players in the Romanian energy market, together with Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica,” he said.

Iancu also said that discussions in Parliament on the topic of offshore law will be resumed at the next parliamentary session.