Austria's OMV Romanian unit agrees to supply gas to Germany, sources say

OMV Petrom SA

09/01/2025 15:47

(Updates headline and first paragraph of Jan. 7 story to make
clear deal signed by OMV's Romanian unit)
    By America Hernandez and Christoph Steitz
       PARIS/FRANKFURT, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Austria's OMV
Romanian unit has struck a deal to supply Germany's Uniper with
gas from its Black Sea project from 2027, three people familiar
with the matter told Reuters, as Europe seeks new ways to boost
energy security after cutting ties with Russia.
    The five-year deal for 15 terawatt hours of natural gas from
the Neptun Deep project, which has not previously been
disclosed, comes after Russia last month stopped delivering gas
via Ukraine and a broader winding down of European Union energy
purchases from Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine.
    The total contract volume represents about 1.5% of Germany's
gas imports in 2024 and would be the first deal underpinning the
long-awaited deepwater project, more than a decade after gas was
first discovered in Romania's section of the Black Sea.
    Neptun Deep, which is expected to start producing in 2027,
holds an estimated 100 billion cubic meters (bcm) of recoverable
gas, making it one of the EU's most significant natural gas
deposits.
    Once it comes online, Romania will become the EU's largest
gas producer and a net gas exporter for the first time.
    OMV Petrom  ROSNP.BX , which is majority-owned by OMV
 OMVV.VI  with Romania holding a 20.7% stake, first announced it
had discovered 42-84 bcm of gas in the Black Sea in 2012.
    Uniper  UN0k.DE  declined to comment. Both OMV and OMV
Petrom did not respond to a request for comment.
    OMV Petrom and state-owned producer Romgaz  SNG.BX , which
own the Neptun Deep project in a 50:50 split, approved the
project in 2023.
    Production at the plateau will be about 8 bcm annually for
about 10 years, nearly doubling Romania's gas output.
    The producers plan to sell the gas separately, but under a
Romanian law the government will have a pre-emptive first right
to gas from the project.
    Gas producers have said there is huge potential for further
discoveries in Romania's Black Sea, where the country has an
estimated 200 bcm of reserves that promise to help diversify
supply in the region.
    ($1 = 0.9614 euros)

 (Reporting by America Hernandez in Paris, Christoph Steitz in
Frankfurt and Luiza Ilie in Bucharest. Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((america.hernandez@thomsonreuters.com; +33623014155))