Romania’s imports of Russian gas from Gazprom in the first eight months of this year increased by 344% compared to the same period last year, according to the Russian company’s announcement, quoted by Rador.
Gazprom’s exports rose 19.4% to 131.3 billion cubic meters, the company announced, adding that last winter, demand for natural gas increased in Russia and Europe.
The biggest increase in exports to a European country was to Romania, followed by those to Turkey (173.6%), Serbia (123.9%) and Germany (39.3%).
The increase in Romania’s imports comes amid a decrease in domestic production. Although Romania has a major gas field in the Black Sea, extraction is blocked due to the lack of a legislative framework required by the companies holding the license. The current law regulating offshore gas production, promoted by the PSD, has been rejected by the companies. The Orban and Cîțu governments have repeatedly promised to amend the law, but so far there is no draft legislation.
