Romania granted American company Chevron the right to explore and exploit shale gas on three perimeters in Constanta county, at Vama Veche, Adamclisi and Costinesti - all on the coast. Chevron also has concession agreements with Romania in the Barlad area, in the North East of the country.

Around 5,000 people protested in Barlad last week against the shale gas exploitation, saying the extraction method is 'dangerous'. In response, Chevron representatives said in a statement that natural gas from shale gas reserves represents a clean source of energy, and that Romanians have no reason to worry.

Chevron, the second largest oil and gas company in the US, has recently had a license for exploring shale gas in neighboring Bulgaria canceled  over environmental issues.

Commentators say Romania's proven natural gas reserves could last for 10 more years, which would make the country dependent on Russian gas after local reserves are depleted, and therefore more inclined to diversify sources and use unconventional gas. Hungarian MOL and Canadian Sterling have also showed interest in searching for shale gas in Romania.

Bulgaria canceled Chevron’s exploitation license for shale gas as it prepares to forbid drilling for such gas over environmental concerns.

Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria together have recoverable shale gas resources of some 538 billion cubic meters, according to the Energy Information Administration. Poland has 5.2 trillion cubic meters of shale gas resources, according to the same source.

Shale gas is natural gas trapped during formation in shale strata. It has become an important source of gas in the US, but environmentalists say it might aggravate global warming, as it emits larger amounts of greenhouse gas methane than conventional gas does. Although using shale gas gives off less methane than coal.

editor@romania-insider.com