Mircea Fechet: "Greenpeace activists who oppose the exploitation of gas from the Black Sea do not represent the interests of the Romanian state"

The Greenpeace activists who oppose the start of gas exploitation from the Neptun Deep perimeter do not represent the interests of the Romanian state, Mircea Fechet, the Minister of the Environment, Waters and Forests, said yesterday for Digi 24, who also states that our country must proceed as they have proceed to toast the riparian states that have identified natural gas resources within the perimeter of their exclusive economic zone.

Minister Mircea Fechet stated: "Romania must not be dependent on other countries, and here Russia would be the happiest. The Russian Federation would be happy if we stopped the project, because we would be forced to import natural gas from them as well. I believe that as long as we have these resources, we must exploit them, we must create jobs, we must create investments and we must ensure the energy independence of Romania, which can become not only a country that uses its own deposits, but to export to neighboring countries. Of course, we do this in accordance with the latest environmental requirements and we do this without polluting the Black Sea or the environment in general. (...) I found that (ed. - Greenpeace activists) did not even understand who issues the environmental agreement, because they asked me personally to stop the issuance of this administrative act when the competent authority that issues such a document is the Agency for Constanţa Environmental Protection. They should have been addressed. No, I cannot give my opinion on behalf of the officials who issue such an act. At the same time, however, I can say that I have a lot of faith in my colleagues and I know that when they issue an environmental authorization, an environmental agreement, an environmental opinion or any other document of this type, they study the environmental studies very well adequate assessment, studies very well all the documents that specify the processes used, the technologies and how they affect or not the environment. And from the information I have, the environmental impact for the Neptun Deep project, relative to its benefits, of course, is a small one, it is one that is justified and that we can manage without affecting the Black Sea".

The Minister of the Environment showed that in the Black Sea other gas fields are also being developed, one even by Bulgaria, and added: "I can't wait for the first molecule of Romanian natural gas to be extracted from Neptun Deep. The operation is not endangered by the environmental notices. Of course, the environmental agreement is an administrative act. I also understood from the representatives of some NGOs, which do not represent the interests of the Romanian state, this is my personal opinion, that they are going to go to court and ask the court, the administrative court, most likely, to cancel this agreement medium. I have no emotion, just like it happened in other situations. I will support my colleagues and the work they do with all my strength and I am convinced that we will prove, if necessary, also in court, that we can extract natural gas from Romania in compliance with environmental requirements".

Mircea Fechet mentioned that he hopes that the actions with which Greenpeace threatens the Romanian state in court will not lead to the delay of natural gas exploitation in the Neptun Deep perimeter. We remind you that Greenpeace activists even demanded the resignation of Minister Fechet for supporting exploitation works in the Black Sea.

The Neptun Deep project is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian area of the Black Sea and is managed in partnership by the companies Romgaz and OMV Petrol, each with a 50% stake. The perimeter of Neptun Deep has an area of 7,500 square kilometers and is located at a distance of about 160 kilometers from the shore, in waters with depths between 100 and 1,000 meters. The development of commercial fields involves an infrastructure that includes 10 wells, 3 subsea production systems and associated gathering pipelines, an offshore platform, the main gas pipeline to Tuzla and a gas measurement station. The platform generates its own electricity, operating to the highest standards of safety and environmental protection. The entire infrastructure will be operated remotely, by means of a digital replica (digital twin). This allows the optimization of processes and will contribute to the improvement of environmental performance, by making energy consumption more efficient and reducing emissions. OMV Petrom and Romgaz will invest almost 4 billion euros for the development phase of the project. During exploitation, it is estimated that Neptun Deep will supply a total volume of about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Romania will thus become the largest gas producer in the European Union. In practice, the estimated production is equivalent to the current annual demand for natural gas of approximately 4.3 million households multiplied almost 30 times.