He said Romgaz will hopefully identify new hydrocarbon reserves to offset the declining production.
Although new gas discoveries are getting rarer and smaller, Romgaz continues to report a discovery rate of 60% to 70%, Metea told a news conference in Sibiu city in the Transylvania region.
“For now, we have a discovery rate of 60%-70%. If we can keep it steady, it means that every year we can supplement our reserves and offset the production decline.”
Romgaz’s deputy general manager Dumitru Rotar said in turn that the company plans to attend all upcoming auctions for the concession of hydrocarbon fields in Transylvania.
Romgaz currently operates 143 commercial fields and owns more than 3,000 wells.
“It’s getting increasingly difficult to find new gas reserves and we are forced to drill deeper underground, to depths exceeding 3,000 meters,” Rotar said.
Romgaz is 70%-owned by the Romanian Energy Department.
The company reported 82.8% increase in its first-quarter net profit to RON608.4 million, fueled by higher sales. (EUR1=RON4.397)