Gas consumption in Romania will double in the next four to five years with the transition of large thermal power plants from coal to gas and with the connection of new cities to the grid. Therefore, even gas production from the Black Sea will not be enough to cover domestic needs, and we will have to resort to imports, says Transgaz CEO Ion Sterian.

“I tell you: in the next four to five years, according to the decline in domestic gas production, both at OMV Petrom and at Romgaz, where we have a natural decline in production – today we have about 9 billion cubic meters of gas. (in a year – no), even gases from the Black Sea, about 8 billion cubic meters, will not satisfy Romania’s needs,” said Sterian, present at the Romanian Energy Symposium (SIREN).

Who are the new consumers?

At the moment, the domestic consumption of the country is 10-11 billion cubic meters.

According to Sterian, there is great interest in connecting some settlements to the network through the Anghel Saligny program, which will increase the country’s consumption by 3-4 billion cubic meters per year.

In addition, the coal-fired power plants Turceni, Mintia and Işalnița will switch to gas, and the new Iernut power plant, also gas-fired, will also be ready in the coming years.

Azomureș and Alro, some of the country’s biggest gas consumers, can resume operations at any time, and new investments in the landscape have been announced, Sterian continued.

“We are approaching 20 billion (gas consumption per year – no). I predict that Romania will need an additional 4-5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2027-2028 in addition to what is produced from the Black Sea. I see that they come from imports, from the Caspian Sea and from LNG terminals in Turkey and Greece,” said the head of Transgaz.