Romgaz could take over Exxon’s participation in the Neptun project in the Black Sea

By Edwin Ban
The Romanian company Romgaz should consider the opportunity to take over ExxonMobil’s participation in the Neptun project in the Black Sea, in case the Americans withdraw, the Minister of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, Virgil Popescu, said at a profile conference on Friday.
‘I will have a discussion next week with Romgaz, to be more active in the market, more active in the Black Sea. There are rumors of Exxon withdrawal. I would like Romgaz to analyze the opportunity and try to enter this consortium OMV Petrom ‘, said Popescu.
He stated that there was a letter from ExxonMobil to the Romanian authorities, but did not read it.
“I will have a discussion with Romgaz representatives to see if it is possible, if Romgaz can do it,” the minister continued.
Popescu is not the first Romanian official to issue the idea for Romgaz to take over Exxon. Iulian Iancu, chairman of the Committee on Industries and Services of the Chamber of Deputies, said the same thing a week ago.
‘I believe that if ExxonMobil finally decides to withdraw from Romania, the Romanian state should get involved and Romgaz should take over their participation. ExxonMobil has never ruled out a collaboration with Romgaz in this regard, “said Iancu.
According to him, Romgaz has the ability to take over the participation of Americans in the deep sea project in the Black Sea.
‘If you look at Romgaz’s deposit portfolio and the results for the first six months of the year, you will see that Romgaz has the ability to take over Exxon’s stake. Romgaz can become one of the main players in the energy market in Romania, along with Hidroelectrica and Nuclearelectrica ‘, he said.
Iancu also said that the discussions in Parliament on the topic of offshore law will be resumed in the next parliamentary session.