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ANRM: between 2008-2017 the state lost 3 billion dollars due to the lack of updating the price of natural gas
The maintenance of the key price for natural gas by the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM) at a level which was not updated for a period of 10 years, between 2008 and 2017 led to losses in the state budget worth 3 billion dollars, stated on Thursday DorinUrsarescu, the adviser of the ANRM chairman.
‘In October 2017, when the new leadership of ANRM took over the position, we noticed things which were very serious. The first thing was the fact that the key price for natural gas, for which the Romanian state should receive fees, had not been updates since 2008, so 10 years the Romanian state had received fees at a key price non-updated since 2008, a price which was 495 lei for every 1,000 cubic metres of gas. In the meantime, there was a deregulation of the price of gas, so the selling price was somewhere at 900-1,000 lei. The Romanian state, during this period, got fees at a key price of 495 lei for each 1,000 cubic metres’Dorin Ursarescu said.
According to the quoted source, the ANRM leadership acted to increase the key price of natural gas immediately after taking over the mandate in October 2017.
‘The production of natural gas in Romania is divided , approximately 50% between Romgaz and OMV Petrom. But,there is no intention on my part to blame them, as they are companies with profit. The blame lies totally with the Romanian state and the institutions of the Romanian state, mainly ANRM, then the state institutions which were notified: SRI,DNA,The general prosecutors’ office, who were notified, they received reports. It is difficult to explain how for ten years the state institutions continued, so, they supported the fact that the Romanian state was deprived of billions and billions’ the ANRM representative said.
He added that, after the Tudose cabinet fell, the next government reinstated the ANRM leadership which published shortly the order for the increase of the key price for gas.
‘The first thing that the new government (the interim government Fifor) the very first day, on 16th January, was to re-instate the ANRM leadership with the mission to continue with the purpose of drawing up the key price, thing which was done, and starting with 18 February the key price was published’ Dorin Ursarescu said.