Romania imported oil of 5.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2011, 6.4 percent less compared to 2010, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS), quoted by Agerpres. The oil production in Romania went down by 2.2 percent in 2011 over the previous year, to over 3.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

According to a British Petroleum study, Romania ranked ninth in top oil producers in Europe and Eurasia in 2010, with an oil production of 89,000 barrels per day, representing 0.1 percent of the worldide production.

The main oil companies in Romania are OMV Petrom, Lukoil and Rompetrol. Oil and gas companies Petrom and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited (EEPRL), an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation have recently started drilling on Romania’s Domino-1 in the Black Sea.  The two companies have already discovered natural gas in the Black Sea, but it is too early in the process to establish whether it was fit for commercial use.

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