Black Sea gas production must start in two to three years, otherwise it will be too late and we will never be able to extract those resources, Zoltan Nagy-Bege, vice president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE), said on Monday.

He attended an online conference on the energy transition, organized by the Council of Foreign Investors (FIC).

“We don’t have the luxury to postpone investments in Black Sea gas exploitation, the impact on the economy would be huge. My prediction is that if we do not start exploitation in two, maximum three years, there will never be a gas production in the Romanian part of the Sea Black,” said the ANRE official.

This is because European legislation is changing very quickly, he argued.

“The market is changing even faster, and we need to be able to react just as quickly. Otherwise, our efforts will be belated and pointless,” Nagy-Bege added, according to Agerpres.

Also Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, present at the same conference, said that 2021 is an essential year for the production of gas in the Black Sea.

“Romania is a country with a vast tradition in energy resources and must play a key role in the energy transition, and natural gas is of particular importance. I also believe that a favorable local context is needed. Time is not on our side and we are lagging behind. So 2021 is a crucial year,” said Verchere, who is also vice president of the FIC.