Romania begins gas extraction in Black Sea, Hungary to buy it instead of Russian gas

Romania intends to become a net exporter of natural gas, as the development of a new offshore gas field is set to begin soon. Drilling at the Neptun Deep gas field in the Black Sea, one of the largest gas fields in the European Union, which will double Romania's gas production and potentially turn it into a net exporter, could start in a few weeks.

"This new gas field will be the only fresh gas source in the region that can contribute to energy diversification," Szijjarto said after signing an energy solidarity agreement with Sebastian Ioan Burduja, energy minister of Romania.

According to the Hungarian Foreign Minister, companies are already conducting the necessary commercial negotiations, "we hope they will reach an agreement that represents progress for both countries."

Szijjártó also reported that last year, the gas interconnector between the two countries was used to trade a total of 1.8 billion cubic meters. The total capacity of the interconnector is 2.6 billion cubic meters per year.

Around two-thirds of Hungary’s gas imports come from Russia, but the country, along with some of its neighbors, faces increasing pressure to diversify and cut ties with Russian energy supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Last year, Hungary imported around 7.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline and additional volumes through Romania said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in December. Hungary also has a domestic production of about 1-1.5 billion cubic meters of gas.

Romania’s gas project

Neptun Deep is the largest natural gas extraction project in Romania's Black Sea sector and the first deep-water offshore project in Romania. Located about 160 kilometers from the shore, the Neptun Deep block covers an area of 7,500 square kilometers at depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 meters.

The project is being jointly implemented by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, with each company holding a 50% stake. In June 2023, the partners announced their final investment decision to develop the Domino and Pelican South gas fields, which are estimated to contain about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Production is expected to reach around 8 billion cubic meters per year.

In November 2024, the mobile offshore drilling unit Transocean Barents arrived in Romania to prepare for drilling ten production wells within the Neptun Deep project. This is an important step in the project's implementation.

The total investment in the project is estimated at 4 billion euros, equally distributed between OMV Petrom and Romgaz. Neptun Deep holds strategic importance for Romania.