Asked whether he is in favor or against allowing U.S. oil group Chevron to drill for shale gas in Romania, Basescu said there are environmental hazards, and there have always been such hazards in the energy sector, but Romania’s energy independence is at stake here.
The president also said Romania does not abandon the idea of securing its energy independence after the Nabucco project failed.
Early February, Chevron said Romania might secure its independence from gas imports if the blocks Chevron will exploit contain significant amounts of shale gas. Chevron Romania manager Tom Holst said at the time that Romania has enough natural gas for 10-15 years and the country must look for alternatives to ensure its energy security.
End-June, Basescu said Romania will turn to own resources to increase oil and gas output after the Nabucco West project lost a bid to transport Azeri gas to the European Union. He also said at the time that Romania could start commercial exploitation of Black Sea and shale gas reserves within four years, before the proposed Nabucco pipeline would have been operational.
Romania is a shareholder of the Nabucco West pipeline project, which was supposed to link Turkey to Austria, offering a new delivery route for gas to Europe and thus reducing European dependence on Russian gas.