Romania

Romania To Review Russian Gas Contracts

Helene Ryding — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 19:55:00 GMT

2006-01-12 10:52:52

Romania's Economy Minister Codrut Seres asked prosecutors to review all gas purchase contracts from Russia, following allegations that the country is paying too much.

Seres said in a statement that he wanted prosecutors to review contracts signed by five Romanian companies to buy Russian gas from state-controlled monopoly Gazprom through two intermediaries.

On 10 January, President Traian Basescu said that Romania was paying the highest price for gas in Europe, and warned that interest groups "were surrounding the Economy Ministry."

Seres is a member of the country’s Conservative Party, which is a junior partner in Romania's governing coalition. The party has been at odds with Basescu.

Seres said that Romanian companies would pay a floating rate of up to $285 per 1,000 cubic meters for Russian gas.

Romania imports about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, with the other 60 percent produced locally.

Source: AP

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Gazprom, BASF Extend Romania Gas Deal to 2030

Helene Ryding — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 00:22:00 GMT

2005-11-24 16:43:36

A joint venture between Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom and German Wintershall, a unit of chemical major BASF , has agreed with Romania to extend their gas supply deal until 2030, Gazprom said on Wednesday.
Gazprom and Wintershall supply the bulk of gas to Romania via the 50/50 venture, Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus Zug Ag, and the previous contract was due to expire in 2012.
Romania heavily depends on Russian gas and Gazprom, the country's export monopoly, supplied Romania with 4.14 billion cubic metres in 2004, down from 5.10 bcm in 2003.
In the first 10 months of 2005 supplies stood at 3.78 bcm, up from 3.49 bcm in the same period of 2004.
Gazprom said the venture supplied Romania with a total of over 40 bcm of gas since the start of operations in 1993, but did not give the volume of planned supplies under the new long-term deal.

Source: Reuters

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REGION: Romania Agrees to Help Moldova in Electricity Supply

Helene Ryding — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 21:30:00 GMT

2005-11-17 18:16:11

Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday that his country was ready to supply electricity to neighboring Moldova. At a meeting with visiting Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev, Basescu promised to provide electricity to Moldova which is facing an electricity shortage.

The crisis began last week after the Russian Inter RAO EES, which owns Moldova's only power station, cut down on electricity production, claiming that the company was running at a loss. Tarlev and Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu also agreed to ask the European Union (EU) for funds to upgrade power grids of the two countries for cross-border electricity transmission.

On the eastern Dnestr region issue, Popescu-Tariceanu said the question must be resolved on the basis of respecting Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Romanian leader told his Moldovan counterpart that Romania was concerned about the eastern Dnestr region issue which has posed a "threat" to Moldova.

Ethnic Russians and Ukrainians announced the secession of the east bank of the trans-Dnestr river region from Moldova in 1990, founding a "Dnestr Republic" that is not recognized by the international community. Russia has stationed troops in the eastern trans-Dnestr region. In 1992, a military conflict broke out between the Ukrainian government forces and troops of the "Dnestr Republic."

The two prime ministers also signed accords on cooperation in industry, agriculture, environmental protection and natural resources. Both leaders agreed to cooperate on the issue of gaining the EU membership. Moldova, which once belonged to Romania, became part of the Soviet Union in 1940 and declared independence in 1991 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

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ROMANIA: Petrotel Refinery Receives Loan of $82 mln

Helene Ryding — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:35:00 GMT

2005-10-27 13:32:47

Romanian refinery Petrotel, part of the Russian oil Group LUKoil, concluded a meeting with the International Finance Corporation for a loan worth $82 mln earmarked to re-finance its own funds used for refinery's upgrading over 2003-2004, ACT Media news agency reports. LUKoil Co. guarantees the respective loan.
The loan will be paid in two instalments.

The first one in the amount of 35 million dollars, on a seven years period, in IFC's account, and the second, of 47 million dollars, on a period of five years in the account of commercial banks' syndicate led by ING. Within Petrotel-LUKoil refinery's upgrading process three new objectives were constructed, drafted upon UOP Ltd (USA), "ExxonMobil" (USA), "Linde" (France) and "Haldor Topsoe" A (Denmark) licences. Following the refinery's upgrade, the depth of crude oil processing increased from 87.9 percent to 94.8 percent.

White products profitability jumped from 73.3 percent to 81.7 percent. In 2005, the refinery's output is entirely composed of products in conformity with Euro-3 and Euro-4 standards.
At the same time, the upgrading allowed a 50% decrease of the polluting substances' emissions.

Source: ACT Media News Agency

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REGION: South Eastern Europe Energy Community Treaty Signed

Helene Ryding — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:27:00 GMT

2005-10-26 13:20:58

Eight Balkan countries will join forces in Athens with the European Union today to establish a single regulatory framework for transporting energy in Southeastern Europe, in a bid to advance the region’s position on the world power map.
A treaty was signed by British Trade and Industry Minister Alan Johnson on behalf of the EU and by ministers from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey.

It will help ensure that countries in the region adopt EU single market regulations on energy regarding petrol, natural gas and electricity markets.

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas described the treaty, which Greece also signed, as an historic agreement that will help unify the energy sectors. “The signing of this treaty creates new conditions for the economy, peace, stability and security in the wider region,” Sioufas said.

The treaty also aims at creating a stable regulatory environment that will boost energy investment in the region.

The World Bank has estimated that 21 billion euros will be poured into energy investments in the region because of the pact. The unification process has also drawn the interest of countries that are not directly part of it.

According to the Development Ministry, the United States and Canada have also given financial support to the treaty. Greece has played a central role in the issue as the country pushes ahead with plans to develop its link with different energy grids.
Apart from agreeing to run a natural gas pipeline from Turkey to Greece, which will then go on to Italy, the government has also signed a deal for a pipeline to carry Russian oil through Bulgaria to northern Greece.