The ambassador of the United States in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, told prime minister Nicolae Ciuca, during a meeting covering, among others, the energy investments in the Black Sea, that investors need "stable, predictable and transparent taxation," Profit.ro reported.

The meeting took place shortly after the American company Black Sea Oil &Gas (BSOG), together with Petro Ventures Resources and Gas Plus Dacia, the holders of the concession contract for the Midia offshore natural gas perimeter in the Black Sea, challenged the solidarity contribution in court.

Natural gas production started at Midia last summer. BSOG seeks to have the provisions of the emergency ordinance enacting the solidarity contribution amended, arguing that it would be levied on its entire profit realised in 2022, as the company has not carried out operations in the years before.

Indeed, the provisions of the ordinance, based on the Recommendations drafted by the European Commission, fail to tackle the case of such companies that carried no operations before 2022.

BSOG seeks a "proportional and adequate application of the solidarity contribution". "BSOG and its partners have taken the necessary legal steps to protect their legal rights and to ensure that ordinance no. 186/2022 is in line with the law, with the principles proposed in the EU Regulation on the solidarity contribution, and that it encourages the growth of gas production at a time when the country needs it most," BSOG CEO Mark Beacom said.

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andrei@romania-insider.com