To close previous disputes, the Romanian government has established new 15-year cooperation frameworks with OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of the Austrian company OMV, through a government decision and a memorandum. The main goal is to ensure that the relationship between the two parties is balanced and predictable.
The agreement includes a 40 per cent increase in royalties to the state, OMV Petrom taking full responsibility for environmental obligations, giving up all legal claims against Romania, and the extension of contract durations.
- Royalties for oil and gas that OMV Petrom extracts from the licenses acquired during privatisation will increase by 40 per cent;
- Romania will no longer pay OMV Petrom for closing unused wells or for penalties from past disputes;
- At the same time, OMV Petrom also waives arbitration regarding the Neptun Deep project and accepts the current law governing gas exploitation in the Black Sea;
- Romania extends the exploration period for the Neptun Deep by two years and prolongs onshore exploitation licenses acquired during privatisation by 15 years.
- OMV Petrom will take into account Romania’s and Romanian consumers’ interests in all its activities, while respecting national and EU competition rules.
“We have managed, after 20 years since the signing of the initial contract, to rebalance the cooperation with OMV Petrom”, said Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
According to OMV Petrom, the company, together with Romgaz, is continuing the development of Neptun Deep, and the project is on track to start producing its first natural gas in 2027.
Romgaz announced that while development work on the Domino and Pelican South fields continues, exploration activities will follow to identify further potential, including the drilling of the Anaconda‑1 exploration well in the deepwater area immediately after the completion of the development wells.