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Shale gas: Romania has a uniform position with European states as for their exploration
Romania has a uniform position with the European states in respects of shale gas exploration, discussions on their exploitation going to be resumed after the outcome of the exploration stages, said Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian on Friday, in a press conference.
'We talked with several colleagues from the European Union, with countries such as Poland, Belgium. All have a unified position in respects of the shale gas, which refers to the possibility of exploring, to know which is the core of the discussions. And in Romania the matter is discussed in the same way. The Government is willing to accept explorations. It takes a while. It is possible that, during this period, technologies will improve, so to avoid later the effects of exploitation. If we talk of exploration, I think we need to do it, it does not affect neither the environment, nor life. It is our duty to know if the debate continues and how', Varujan Vosganian said.
Prospecting activities for gas and shale will bypass protected areas, will be conducted at a distance of at least one kilometer from the Black Sea shore and will not take place in towns or inhabited areas, reveals an information document made recently available to AGERPRES by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change / MMSC /.
At the same time, exploration operations following prospecting will not involve the use of hydraulic fracturing process.
Constanta Environmental Protection Agency recently issued the decisions on the classification stage for Chevron Romania Exploration and Production SRL in case of Costinesti and Vama Veche perimeters (southeast), which comprise the seismic prospecting to identify resources. The Ministry of Environment stresses that, for this stage, there is no need for environmental impact assessment because the 'exploration' is made by classical applied methods / wells drilled in Romania for decades '.
Chevron holds licenses to conduct such prospecting works for shale gas in three blocks in Romania, with an area of 270,000 hectares (Costinesti, Vama Veche and Barlad). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria have together shale gas reserves of 538 billion cubic meters, enough to cover the needs of Romania for almost 40 years.
Gunther Oettinger: I encourage Romania to take part in European debate on shale gas exploitation
The EU Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger hailed on Wednesday, May 15, Romania's démarches to diversify its energy sources and said that shale gas could be an option. In a speech at a conference organised by the Romanian Energy Centre in Brussels, the EU's high official added that he encourages Romania to take part in the European debate on shale gas exploitation.
Romania, more than other EU member states, is facing huge challenges to adapt to the European market and the EU regulations, in order to catch up with this advanced energy technology, and to make its companies better known in the rest of Europe, said Gunther Oettinger. But when I see what you have already achieved, I have great confidence that you will succeed. Structurally and strategically, Romania is an essential element of the European energy market, the European official told the participants in the conference.
The EU commissioner added that Romania is a 'major player' in the EU's common strategy and congratulated that country for its progress in the energy field in the past ten years.
Romania is about to meet its commitments to increase to 24% the share of renewable energies in its energy mix by 2020. Moreover, you have made some progress in terms of energy efficiency, but there is a great potential to do more, especially in less industrialized sectors, Gunther Oettinger said. Last year, Romania was an example in the EU in the reallocation of structural funds for investments in the energy efficiency of residential buildings. I am also pleased that the connection Arad-Szeged with Hungary was finalized and that the Romania-Bulgaria gas interconnection will become bi-directional. Those projects have helped Romania to integrate more into the European market, the EU commissioner said in his speech.
Commissioner Gunther Oettinger also welcomed the fact that the states involved in the Nabucco project, including Romania, confirmed their support for the project during the recent Budapest meeting of the Nabucco Committee.