Romgaz: We look for a value increase along the gas chain

Romgaz is the main natural gas producer and supplier in Romania, having the Romanian State as main shareholder (70%). The remaining 30% stake is traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). In 2013, Romgaz expanded its main scope of activity by taking over Iernut power plant, thereby becoming an electricity producer and supplier. Currently, the company is implementing the largest investment made in the energy sector in the past 10 years- the CCGT Power plant Iernut, 430 MW.

The new investment at Iernut is worth 269 million Euro, being the most important investment made in the energy sector in the past 10 years, according to Adrian Volintiru, CEO Romgaz.

“For the second gas-fired power plant, at Mintia – Hunedoara County, the prefeasibility study is completed and the feasibility study is in progress,” he tells The Diplomat – Bucharest. “When completed, Iernut and Mintia power plants shall increase Romgaz revenue by 8%, provided the current structure is maintained.”

Volintiru says Romgaz view over energy sector is to produce and sustain green energy: “Business development is in line with discoverable gas and power generations based on gas and renewable. There is a lot of room for improvement in Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation that will enable companies to make better decisions in the E&P sector.”

Romgaz expects the increase of the need of natural gas based on economy development. “We have expectations to be set an stable business environment with a regulatory system which encourages investment,” says Volintiru. “We look for a value increase along the gas chain, because the content of methane in the Romanian gas is high and would rather suit the consumption of the chemical and petrochemical industry, which would increase the value of the molecule along the chain. It is required to implement investment projects whose value exceeds in the medium and long term the resources provided by our budget. As such, for the future, the need arises to identify and access additional refundable external financing sources.”

Caragele field, the largest hydrocarbon discovery in the Romanian’s onshore over the past 30 years was the most outstanding achievement of Romgaz, according to its CEO. “Exploration phase on the concession started in 1998 and the discovery has been made in 2016,” he adds. “The concession’s is under the appraisal phase and Romgaz in focus to enter into the development phase by the end of 2021.”

(From the print edition)