In 2021, Romania estimates an amount of crude oil of almost 3.3 million toe. In 1976, our country produced 15 million toe of crude oil

By Edwig Ban
Romania produced, in the first 11 months of 2021, a quantity of crude oil of over 2.848 million tons of oil equivalent (toe), with 122,000 toe (4.1%) lower than that produced in the similar period of 2020, according to the data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Imports of crude oil in the mentioned period amounted to 6.131 million toe, being 3,000 toe lower than in the previous year.
According to the estimates of the National Commission for Strategy and Forecast, crude oil production is estimated for 2021 at 3.275 million toe (minus 3.2% compared to 2020) and in 2022 at 3.2 million toe (minus 2.3%). Imports are expected to 8.425 million toe in 2021 (plus 20.7%) and 8.815 million toe in 2022 (plus 4.6%).
The draft Energy Strategy, published on the website of the Ministry of Energy, estimates that oil production will continue its slow downward trend between 2030 and 2050, from 22 to 13 TWh (1.93 to 1.15 million toe).
Modeling results in 2016 indicate a halving of domestic crude oil production to about 2 million tonnes by 2030. Increasing dependence on imports can only be avoided in the medium and long term by encouraging exploration and production, as well as increasing efficiency. fossil fuel consumption.
Romania has a history of over 160 years in the production and refining of crude oil. It was one of the largest producing countries in the world and one of the largest producers in the early twentieth century.
In 1857, Romania is the first country to report crude oil production and has the first refinery in Europe (Mehedințeanu) built near Ploiești. This is the year in which the fascinating journey of the oil and gas industry in Romania begins. Until the beginning of the First World War, the industry experienced a rapid development, mainly due to foreign investment. Before the First World War, approximately 75% of the capital invested in the Romanian oil industry was German, British and Dutch, while the Romanian capital had a share of only 8%. International players who were attracted to the Romanian oil fields included Standard Oil (Romanian-American branch, established in 1904) and Shell (Romanian Astra branch, established in 1910).
In 1976, a record 15 million tons of crude oil production was reached, after which production began to decline.