Russia’s Gazprom Is On The Offensive Again In Romania

Romania’s Romgaz and Russia’s Gazprom will set up a joint company to import Russian gas for the Romanian market. The gas will be stored in an underground 2 billion cubic meters storage facility to be build at Roman-Margineni, in Neamt County, for 250 million euros.

"I wish to start this project so many times postponed in the past," said Codrut Seres, Romania’s minister for economy, upon meeting Friday Alexander Medvedev, vice-president of Gazprom.

Most imports of Russian gas to Romania, or six million cubic meters, are conducted via a German-Russian joint-venture company of Wintershall and Gazprom. Both Russian and German partners refuse to tell which the commission fee is. "I do not know which are the revenues from our exports to Romania," said Medvedev.

Gazprom lost in the bidding for privatizing Romania’s gas distribution company Distrigaz Sud, and now is again on the offensive, attempting to address the issue of underground storage facilities for gas to be build in the south-east European country.

"We are also interested in the distribution and transport of gas in Romania," added Medvedev, though nothing of significance is left there for sale.

Both Russian and German partners denied Gazprom might get a share in another Romanian gas distribution company, Distrigaz Nord, while partnering with E-On, which also owns Ruhrgas and the Romanian company.

"We may build a power plant which uses gas to produce electric power," said Medvedev. He did not rule out his company’s participation in completing the construction work at reactors number 3 and 4, at Romania’s nuclear power plant at Cernavoda. He added the Russian gas price sold to Romania is not higher than that of gas sold to other nations.

"We will partner for projects grounded on economic reasons, and not on political ones," said Seres.