The Romanian Association of Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies (ROPEPCA) clarifies how are calculated the oil royalties in the context of public debate raised by PNL Senator Daniel-Cătălin Zamfir. He wrote in a Facebook posting that Prime Minister Mihai Tudose, now resigning, stopped the publication of an ANRM order by which the method of calculating the royalty for natural gas would had been changed.

“Producers sell gas with 89 lei/MWh, while the state collects a royalty for 45.71 lei/MWh”, wrote Zamfir, as quoted by www.bursa.ro.

In a press release, ROPEPCA expresses its concern about the harsh and unjustified accusations brought more and more often in the public space against the Romanian natural gas producers, accusations that refer to the allegedly incorrectly paying royalties on natural gas.

“The members of the association consider that these allegations lack of any real substance and their apparition in the public space can be explained only by insufficient information about the process of calculating royalties”, considers ROPEPCA.

ANRM order 98/1988 states that the production value is determined by considering the prices used by the concession holders to exploit their petroleum quantities, which may not be lower than the reference prices established and communicated quarterly by the NAMR. In other words, the reference price for domestically produced natural gas as published quarterly by the ANRM represents nothing more than a lower limit, which the price for calculating royalties is not allowed to go below explains the Romanian Association of Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies.

“We emphasize that the Romanian petroleum industry strictly followed the instructions received from NAMR and fulfilled the obligation to pay royalties, by applying in the computation formula of the royalties the maximum between the reference price set by NAMR – in its quality of representative of the Romanian State under the concession agreements – and the selling price, according to the applicable legislation”, states Harald Kraft, ROPEPCA President.

At the same time, the association expresses deep disappointment about the way in which an important and functional sector of the Romanian economy is publicly discredited by false allegations lacking any real substance.

ROPEPCA brings together 17 of the most important holders of oil concession agreements concluded with the Romanian state. The members of the association hold most of the oil concession agreements for Romania’s onshore exploration, development and production blocks, representing cumulated investments of 650 million euros in 2016, a turnover of almost 2.9 billion euros, contributions to the state budget of 300 million, and are responsible for creating and maintaining 14,800 jobs.