The conventional oil deposits in western Romania became part of the strategic development of Serbian NIS Petrol. Company representatives recently stated that the Romanian-Serbian border area will experience a great economic development if prospecting will certify the expectations related to the oil deposits, reports local Capital.

They also gave assurances that the company is not looking for shale gas, stating that geologists argued that the Banat area in the western part of Romania sits on an area poor in reserves of shale gas, and “the company doesn’t want to invest a lot of money in searching for possible shale gas”.

"Increasing production capacity as a result of significant investment in upgrading refinery in Pancevo (Serbia) represents the main reason for our interest in oil perimeters in western Romania, situated near the border with Serbia," said Vadim Smirnov, general manager of NIS Petrol Romania, cited by Capital.

NIS Petrol is part of NIS, majority owned by Gazprom. NIS has two refineries, in Pancevo and in Novi Sad. It produces around 1.7 million toe of oil and gas a year. The Serbian company operates 500 gas stations and a network of crude oil storage facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, Turkmenistan, Angola, Belgium and Russia.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com