“We haven’t imported anything since April. We estimate imports will stand at around 3% [of consumption] this year but we’re only importing gas to stay balanced. For instance, in case of a harsh winter, gas cannot be extracted from storage at normal pressure. If domestic output covers consumption next year, we’ll stop imports,” said Havrilet.
Romania’s energy regulator estimates the country’s consumption at 11 billion cubic meters this year, of which imports make up just 3% from 25% before 2008.
Last year, Romania imported 7.5% of its total natural gas consumption. Consumption declined from 17-18 billion cubic meters in 2008 to 11 billion cubic meters in 2014.
Havrilet said the country’s consumption is seen at 11 billion cubic meters or less this year as six chemical plants, which used up around 2 billion cubic meters of gas a year, have been shut down since April.
Romania stored 2.7 billion cubic meters of gas last year.
“We’ve decided to ensure a minimum 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas in storage, but operators can store larger quantities. So far, we have 2.2 billion cubic meters stored and we estimate to reach around 2.5 billion cubic meters by the end of the storage cycle,” he said.
Romania’s domestic natural gas output is ensured by Romgaz (SNG.RO) and OMV Petrom (SNP.RO).