The company considers the quotas disproportionate.
It is the first time that Romgaz has initiated a direct action against the European Commission, a step motivated by possible economic and technical implications of the regulation, including the need for investments amounting to hundreds of millions of euros and the risks associated with carbon dioxide storage projects in onshore reservoirs.
According to EU normative acts, Romgaz has to store 4.2 million tons of CO2 per year.
Romgaz representatives say the measure generates significant economic and technical risks for European energy producers, pointing out that the regulation is deeply unfair. The company argues that the capacity obligation established for Romania’s companies accounts for over 20% of the EU objective, despite the country being responsible for only about 3% of the total CO2 emissions generated by the EU manufacturing sector between 2020-2023.
“Among the options analyzed are investments in CO2 storage facilities in depleted natural gas fields or saline aquifers. In addition, Romgaz has initiated in-depth technical studies and analyses to identify the potential of such deposits and to evaluate the feasibility of transforming them into CO₂ storage facilities. We remain firmly committed to implementing the policies of the European Union, including the Green Deal,” said Romgaz general director Razvan Popescu.
According to Romgaz, the challenged acts introduce significant disproportionality and uncompetitive behavior, while the required investments of several hundred million euros lack economic feasibility conditions or adequate guarantees.
”I would like to highlight that it is for the first time that the European Parliament/Commission, by means of an European regulation/delegated regulation/decision, directly imposes obligations, including monetary obligations, to companies which are subjected to corporate strictness and to the rules of the commercial markets on which they operate, without a prior technical and economic impact study showing the technical and economic feasibility in relation to the imposed obligations,” said Aristotel Jude, Romgaz Deputy CEO.