Romanian state-controlled gas company has received "a first response […] to the offer to take over ExxonMobil's participation in the Neptun Deep gas project in the Black Sea," according to statements made on Tuesday, April 20, by Razvan Popescu, the company's economic director.

"Unfortunately, I can't give you many details because we are in a period in which we have to keep certain limits of confidentiality. However, I can tell you that we have received the first answer, and there is a very auspicious interaction with Exxon's representatives," he stated, according to Agerpres.

He argued that the best financing option for this deal would be in euro, on the European market, because of the high level of financing involved and the low liquidity on the local market. ExxonMobil has invested alone around USD 750 million in the exploration phase of the project.

Last week, Romgaz CEO Aristotel Jude said in a press conference that the company is ready to take over ExxonMobil's stake in the Black Sea Neptun Deep project, and the funding will be a mixed one, consisting of own sources and attracted sources. He stressed that Romgaz is also considering a bond issue.

On March 31, Romgaz submitted the sole bid to take over ExxonMobil's participation in the Neptun Deep perimeter.

Currently, ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom are equal partners in the project, where exploration has revealed deposits estimated at between 42 and 84 billion cubic meters. For comparison, Romania produced 9.2 billion cubic meters of gas last year.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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