The Neptun Deep offshore project, developed by OMV Petrom with Romgaz, has climbed up on the priority list of the company's main shareholder OMV, the head of the Austrian group, Alfred Stern, said, quoted by Profit.ro.

Stern explained that part of the group's strategy, which focused on chemistry and petrochemicals, was influenced by the latest developments in the energy market.

"Indeed, the current crisis made us think, and we made some changes and adjustments. The Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea was already an important project for us. But as you can imagine, it has moved even higher on our priority list at this point," Stern said.

Neptun Deep has moved upwards and downwards on OMV's priority list over the past years, as the Austrian group has expected better financial and commercial terms.

The Romanian authorities had to defer the calendar of the concession contract concerning the deadline for declaring the project as commercial. However, OMV Petrom will eventually have to make a commitment in this regard by the end of the year, minister of energy Virgil Popescu said.

As regards the final investment decision, it shouldn't be expected sooner than mid-2023, OMV Petrom CE Cristina Verchere said.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Dreamstime.com)