Asked about a recent “thesis” in Romania, according to which the country lacks energy and gas because it needs to help Moldova and Ukraine, the minister said: “This is a false thesis. Today Romania is the largest producer of natural gas in the whole European Union. Currently, we produce between 21 and 23 million m³ of gas per day, and our gas reservoirs of 3 billion m³ are about 68% full.” quoted digi24.ro.
He also added that the country’s reserves are about 15% higher than the European Union average, and on November 1, at the beginning of the cold season, Romania was the only country in the entire EU where gas reservoirs were 100% full.
The official also said that “meetings” had been held to ask economic operators in the natural gas distribution sector to “make purchases from the summer, when prices are very low” and they “did so, we filled our storage facilities and ensured that regardless of the weather conditions during this period, Romania has enough gas so that there is no pressure.”
“From 2023, we no longer import gas from Russian Federation, so we are out of this energy blackmail they have arranged against us”, the minister said.
At the same time, the Romanian official understands the words “assistance to Moldova and Ukraine” in a rather peculiar way. He clarified what it consists in.
“At the same time, Romania behaves as a potential regional player, because we, on the one hand, import LNG from the United States, sell it to Moldova and transit it to Ukraine, but this is in a form that brings us income from this economic activity, and this is a plus,” Bogdan Ivan said.
He also specified that “we use natural gas from other countries to help our neighbors, making profit through Romanian companies”.
