Romania foresees rise in gas usage despite Council reduction agreement

Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja foresees a rise in gas consumption in Romania, despite the political agreement reached at the EU Council on Monday on a recommendation to continue coordinated demand reduction.

Romania does not expect to reduce its gas consumption and relies on its domestic production sources, especially looking ahead to 2027 when the Neptun Deep project is scheduled to start production, positioning Romania as the main gas producer in the EU.

On Monday, the Council reached a political agreement on a recommendation to continue coordinated demand reduction.

The Council’s agreement is more of a recommendation than a commitment in the context of the need for certain European states to reduce their dependence on Russian gas, Burduja said.

Minister Burduja anticipates increased gas consumption in Romania by “reactivation of the chemical fertiliser industry and by expanding gas distribution networks to the population through the Anghel Saligny program”.

Although the security of supply in the EU has improved, it is still necessary to further reduce demand to ensure sufficient gas storage for the coming winter.

Member States are encouraged to further reduce their gas consumption by at least 15% by 31 March 2025 compared to their average gas consumption between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2022.

This recommendation will help member states take adequate supply security measures until the transposition of the directives on energy efficiency and renewables in 2025, which will bring structural demand reduction in the near future while achieving the EU’s decarbonisation goals.

(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)