The EU should provide financial support to Romania’s Neptun Deep gas drilling project in the Black Sea, Hungarian President Katalin Novak said during a visit to Budapest of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday.
Asked if Hungary was negotiating with Romania to buy gas from Neptun Deep, Novak said the project offered “a new opportunity” for Hungary to diversify its energy sources.
“I’m glad this investment has started,” Novak said, signalling Hungary’s intention to buy gas from Neptun Deep to reduce dependence on Russian gas. “We are in discussions on this topic,” said Novak.
She also said that the EU should financially support this project.
Neptun Deep is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea and the first deepwater offshore project in Romania. The estimated investments for the project’s development phase are up to €4 billion.
During the development phase, Neptun Deep will supply an estimated total volume of around 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas. “Romania will, therefore, become the largest gas producer in the European Union”, according to OMV Petrom.
President Klaus Iohannis stated that Romania could become “a relevant partner and energy supplier for Hungary”.
Investments in Neptun Deep are progressing, and “we expect that in the near future, this resource would be exploited”, Iohannis said.
Last year, former energy minister Virgil Popescu told Euractiv in an interview that gas extraction from the Neptun Deep area could begin in 2026.
(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
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