Energy Minister Burduja: “Romgaz restarted the drilling program at Caragele; total investment will reach 1 billion RON by 2027”

Neptun Deep is on schedule to start production in 2027, and Romgaz is restarting the drilling program in the Caragele perimeter, after years of blockages, the Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, said on Saturday, during a working visit to Caragele.

According to a release from the ministry, the Caragele project is the most important onshore investment in the exploration portfolio of the Romgaz and already has an important contribution to the national production of hydrocarbons.

During the visit, Sebastian Burduja emphasized the importance of the Caragele project, probably the biggest onshore discovery in Romania’s hydrocarbon sector in recent history, having an essential role in consolidating the country’s energy independence. 

“From the beginning of my mandate, I decided with the management team of Romgaz, with the General Director Răzvan Popescu, to prioritize investments, especially Neptun Deep and Caragele. Today, Neptun Deep is on schedule to start production in 2027, and Romgaz is restarting, by its own forces, the drilling program in the Caragele perimeter, after years of blockages. I visited Sonda 76 Rosetti today. Romgaz relies here on the Romanian entrepreneur Foraj Sonde Craiova, with 100% Romanian technology and highly experienced Romanian engineers. They have already advanced over 1,500 meters in just two weeks, the work being ahead of schedule. In June it will reach over 5000 meters. If all the data are confirmed, production will actually start in 24 months”, said Minister Burduja.

According to him, the investment in this well alone exceeds 100 million RON, and the total investment in Caragele will be over 1 billion RON by 2027.

“I asked my colleagues from Romgaz to maintain an accelerated pace of work. The management of the company and the project confirmed to me that important progress was made and they committed to keep the pace. It is certainly an objective of strategic importance for Romania. The data related to the value of the reserves will be able to be confirmed during the next period, this being the objective of the deep exploration stage. From the evaluations available at this moment, we can be optimistic that we are indeed discussing a significant potential, with a major contribution to Romania’s energy independence. Romania has resources and Romanians must benefit from them!”, said Sebastian Burduja.