Romania has granted US energy giant Chevron permission to to explore and exploit shale gas in three coastal perimeters - Vama Veche, Adamclisi and Costinesti.

The country's government has approved concession agreements for exploration, development and exploitation of shale gas in the aforementioned perimeters signed by the Romanian Mineral Resources Agency and Chevron, dnevnik.bg informs, citing Ziarul Financiar.

The agreements come into effect as of March 28.

Chevron also has concession agreements with Romania in the Barlad area, in the North East of the country, Romania Insider has reminded.

Around 5,000 people protested in Barlad last week against the shale gas exploitation, saying the extraction method is 'dangerous'. In response, Chevron representatives claimed in a statement that natural gas from shale gas reserves represents a clean source of energy, and that Romanians have no reason to worry.

Following widespread protests, on January 17, the Bulgarian government revoked a shale gas exploration permit granted to US Chevron for deposits in Northeastern Bulgaria, citing the insufficient proof of the environmental safety of hydraulic fracturing.

On January 18, the Cabinet imposed an indefinite ban on hydraulic fracturing, a method which involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals at very high pressure deep underground to crack rock and release oil and gas.The move was triggered by a wave of environmental protests across the country.

Bulgarian environmental activists launched new initiatives in end-February, insisting that the ban should be enshrined in a law.

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