Gheorghe indicated that the price of gas from domectic production is now $160 per 1,000 cubic meters, while imported gas costs $280. “And this is a notable difference,” the official added. At the same time, Petrom’s General Manager said that gas imports are necessary in the long-run, because domestic resources will run out at a certain point.
“It is important to have resource diversification, because it is less risky this way. In the long-run, you should not rely exclusively on internal reserves, but should have options for when resources run out,” Gheorghe said.
The Petrom official said that Romania’s gas consumption will drop to 12.8-13 billion cubic meters this year, from 18 billion m3 five years ago, due to the recession and the decline in demand. Petrom and the state-owned Romgaz Medias company ensure about two thirds of the national gas consumption, with the difference being imported through Gazprom Russia. Petrom produced 5.5 billion cubic meters of gas last year and covers almost half of the national production.
