Romania’s Shale Gas Drilling Potential

Romania has the potential to use its unconventional energy sources, with the third-largest recoverable shale gas reserves in Europe and the appropriate technology at its disposal. The subject, however, is sensitive to the general population.

In the past, hydraulic fracturing was thought to be a game-changer in the European energy market.

According to a 2014 briefing note from the European Parliament, Europe’s theoretically recoverable shale gas reserves are 14 trillion cubic metres (tcm), with the majority of these deposits located in Poland (4.2 tcm), France (3.9 tcm), and Romania (1.4 tcm).

According to a study mentioned by Euroactiv on the criteria for exploiting hydrocarbons, Poland and the United Kingdom had active shale gas licenses as of 2018. Concessions were given by Denmark, Germany, Romania, and Spain, but they all expired because some of them never got to site operations.

Since then, France outlawed the technology, and exploration in northern Denmark has halted due to the discovery of only a small amount of shale gas.

The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan, which was presented on May 18, proposes several initiatives to diversify the gas supply. However, it does not mention shale gas when it comes to alternative energy sources, instead focusing on solar and offshore wind energy, heat pumps, and renewable hydrogen.

The Intelligent Energy Association, a non-profit organization that brings together energy industry specialists, recently sought an official strategy on hydraulic fracturing, claiming that shale gas offers Romania a considerable chance to improve energy security and lower prices.
However, the idea of adopting hydraulic fracturing is not mentioned in Romania’s Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate Change for 2021-2030.

Romania remains the country of possibilities, but not of opportunities. The fact that Romania has the necessary resources to be independent of an energy point of view is the irony of history. The economic potential lies in several areas, especially in the segment of agriculture, which could currently be at the forefront in Europe. However, what is the obstacles to this energy’s potential has not yet developed?