The state’s intention to set a cap on the price of gas extracted in Romania is not a communist measure, although it may look like one, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici said on Thursday, July 19.

He added that such a measure is needed because the two big gas producers in Romania, Romgaz and OMV Petrom, have constantly increased prices since April 2017, when the state liberalized the market, without making the promised investments, local News.ro reported.

“We have two main operators who have been increasing prices, one at a time, each time up, never down. Meanwhile, they haven’t done the investments they said they would do, so there’s no justification for the price increase,” Teodorovici said, adding that the consumers and the economy are the ones who suffer from this.

Gas producers, on the other hand, say this measure is discriminating and will lead to an increased dependence on gas imports.

"This decision will discourage the domestic gas production for which companies in Romania invest significantly in exploiting the deposits and creating jobs,” said herald Kraft, president of the Romanian Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association – ROPEPCA.

Romania plans to cap domestic gas price, producers’ shares drop

editor@romania-insider.com