Romanian state-controlled natural gas company Romgaz will sign the contract with ExxonMobil to take over the 50% stake in Neptun Deep Black Sea gas field in the immediate future, after December 9, when the General Shareholders Meeting (GSM) will take place.

The transaction will be completed in the first quarter of 2022, stated Romgaz CEO Aristotel Jude, quoted by Economica.net.

A key element for the deal is the Offshore Law, which the investors want to be amended in the sense of more favorable terms. The Liberal cabinets avoided amending the Law over the past couple of years, and now the topic becomes problematic in the context of the uncertain orientation of the new Government. Romgaz must pay the total price for the 50% stake in Neptun Deep upon the signing of the contract.

On October 26, the executive management of Romgaz completed the negotiations with Exxon regarding the takeover. No contract was signed at that time because the transaction was pending approval from both parties’ shareholders.

Romgaz’s Board of Directors already approved the takeover, and the general shareholders meeting was convened for December 9 to approve the conclusion of this transaction. Romgaz will pay $1.06-1.07 bln for the 50% stake, and OMV Petrom, which holds the other half of the field, replaces Exxon as the operator of the project.

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iulian@romania-insider.com