Romania Sets High Priority on Shale Gas

Romania's negotiations with Chevron on the exploration and production of shale gas will be an area of interest for the country's future government, Designated Prime Minister Victor Ponta has declared.

In an interview for Realitatea TV, Ponta has explained that he wants Romanian companies to be competitive when facing companies from Poland, a country which has already started exploitation of shale gas to lower energy costs.

The Romanian PM has further noted that Russian energy giant Gazprom would be disadvantaged should Romania start using shale gas to reduce its reliance on Russian gas.

Chevron wants to start drilling for shale gas exploration near the town of Barlad. However, Romanian environmental campaigners organized protests before the elections on December 9, demanding a nationwide ban on hydraulic fracturing.

On January 18 the Parliament of Romania's southern neighbor, Bulgaria, pssed a moratorium on the hydraulic fracturing technology used in shale gas research and extraction.