In its government program presented Thursday, the new Cabinet said the moratorium on shale gas exploitation would be imposed immediately after parliament endorsement.
In March, Romania approved a series gas exploration deals signed with US giant Chevron, which allow the latter to drill for shale gas at three blocks in the Black Sea.
Chevron’s plans to drill for shale gas have sparked protests from environmentalists worried about possible side effects of hydraulic fracturing.
The US company said the only operations scheduled this year in the Black Sea target geological surveys to determine whether the blocks contain large enough deposits for commercial exploitation.