Romania's Government will submit the new offshore law to the Parliament in December, Dan Dragos Dragan, a state secretary in the Economy Ministry, announced at an energy conference.

He said that the Executive wants to see the first natural gas deliveries from the Neptun Deep offshore field - the largest in the Romanian Black Sea - before 2025.

Government officials explained earlier this year that a new offshore law, requested by investors, would be unveiled before the December 6 elections. Still, the draft law will be sent to Parliament for debate and approval only after the elections - when the Government expects to form a stable majority.

MP Cristina Pruna (USR), a member of the Industry Committee within the Chamber of Deputies, said, at the same conference, that the Parliament could pass the new offshore law before next March, Agerpres reported. But serious negotiations [between the Government and lawmakers] should be initiated immediately after the elections, she added.

Out of the offshore natural gas projects in the Black Sea, the one operated by Black Sea Oil and Gas (BSOG, controlled by US investment fund Carlyle) is the most advanced and could start production in the second part of next year. But the investor, which already started construction works before production, said that it expected the new offshore law before starting to pump gas into the pipelines.

The other project, currently operated by ExxonMobil with OMV Petrom, is in limbo as the investors expect regulatory clarity.

At the same time, ExxonMobil is looking to sell its stake, and the Romanian state is interested in buying it through state-owned gas producer Romgaz.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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