Словаччина має намір отримувати природний газ із проекту біля узбережжя Неptun у Румунії

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday that as Russian natural gas supplies will end next year, Slovakia is interested in obtaining natural gas from Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore project.

Fico said at a joint televised briefing with Romanian Prime Minister Ciolacu in Bucharest: “We have expressed our interest and stated that if Romania intends to export this natural gas outside its own territory — that is, not only for its own consumption — Slovakia would be willing to utilize existing infrastructure, and we would be commercially interested in this natural gas.”

A Romanian official said last month that Hungary and Germany are also interested in obtaining natural gas from this Black Sea project, though they hope Romania’s economy can utilize as much of this natural gas as possible.

Neptun Deep is one of the EU’s most important natural gas fields, with estimated recoverable natural gas reserves of 100 billion cubic meters.

The project is jointly owned by Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom and state-owned gas producer Romgaz, and is expected to produce its first batch of natural gas in 2027.

Although the EU has been working to end its energy dependence on Russia following the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Slovakia remains dependent on Russian oil and natural gas supplies.

The EU plans to gradually stop importing natural gas from Russia by the end of 2027.

Last year, approximately one-third of Slovakia’s natural gas came from Russia, but the country is seeking to increase this level before the EU ban takes effect.