The final decision on the investment in the Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea could be made in mid-2023, but we all know that if the Offshore Law would had been in a different place in 2018, we would have seen production from Neptun at the end of this year year, said Christina Verchere, the general director of OMV Petrom, in a press conference on Thursday.

“All in all, our strategy until 2030 is, I believe, the largest investment level ever proposed by an energy company in Romania, and you now see the strategy in action and a clear component of this strategy. It is obvious that, through Neptun Deep, we are starting, indeed, let’s go faster than we thought in terms of some energy transition projects, especially the photovoltaic panels project with the Oltenia complex. The transaction between Romgaz and Exxon Mobil will be completed in the third quarter of this year and we are ready to become operators, because we have the necessary team. The offshore law brings some improvements which we welcome, but we need clarification in terms of free market principles based on the transfer of operating responsibility. It will take between 9 and 12 months to take the final investment decision, which is expected to be made in mid-2023. We assure you that we want to go as quickly as possible, because we expect for years, but the pre-condition that I have always repeated is a stable fiscal and legislative environment. So for that we need clarification. Anyway, I want to say that a lot of progress has been made,” said Verchere, according to Agerpres.

The head of OMV Petrom also pointed out that if the Offshore Law had been approved in 2018, the first production results from the Neptun Deep project would have been observed at the end of this year.

“Regarding the total amount of the company’s investments, of 11 billion lei, yes, this includes the Neptun project. Neptun is a very large project, it is the Pearl of the Crown, but there are other investments in the traditional business, but also in energy transition projects (…) I have always said that with an investment of this magnitude we must consider three important elements: stability, competitive terms and a free market. This is a production profile that will last for 20 years, so we need to understand how we’re going to do the commercialization. That’s why we need clarification. This is a moment in time, hopefully more stability. Hopefully there will be more predictability in this volatile context. There’s a four-year lag here, and I think we all know that if the Offshore Act had been in another place, in 2018 we would see production from Neptune at the end of this year, but that is not the case. It is a multi-billion investment, so we are waiting to have c operatorship, but this situation lasts longer than I thought. I have seen changes in the Offshore Law, they are positive, but we need some additional clarifications. I trust that the Romanian authorities understand the strategic importance of the Neptun Deep project and I am sure that we will receive the clarifications we asked for as quickly as possible”, argued Christina Verchere.