The ban on Russian gas imports from 2027 will represent a new challenge, which will have a significant impact on this region, and although it may be good news for Romanian producers, they must accelerate development to bring more capacity to the market, Franck Neel, president of the Energy Employers’ Federation, said on Tuesday.
“We have another challenge next year, which we must not forget. It is the ban on Russian gas starting from 2027, which will have a significant impact on this region, because we still have Hungary, Slovakia and also Greece, with long-term contracts for Russian gas. So this source will be missing next year. One could say that for Romanian producers this is rather good news, but it will put pressure on the system. Therefore, we need to really look at how we can accelerate development and how we can bring more capacity to the market. And I think this is indeed one of the main objectives that our federation is working on, together with its members and with the different stakeholders: how to accelerate the pace and how to bring resources to the market faster. And I think this is one of the main challenges that we are facing: from obtaining permits and establishing the legal framework to involving construction companies in these major investments that we want to make in the coming years,” said Neel, at the 8th edition of the Romanian International Energy Conference (RIEC 2026), organized by FPE, according to Agerpres.
He added that many new energy sources will come into operation next year, which will contribute to improving the situation regarding the supply-demand ratio, as well as the price situation.
The FPE President stressed that the current context is a difficult one, with South-Eastern Europe facing challenges related to energy prices and security of supply this year, which has put a lot of pressure on customers, end consumers, but also on suppliers, given the costs for balancing, both in the electricity and gas sectors. There was also pressure on producers to maximize production, given the demand for energy.
“We are very happy to see that additional resources are coming into operation and that new resources are being used: Black Sea gas, additional electricity production capacities. We see more and more megawatts entering the system every year. The pace has not been very good. If we look at Neptun Deep, from discovery to the first gas more than 15 years have passed. In terms of electricity production, we see delays in execution, delays in the authorization process and delays in connecting to the grid,” the FPE official also said.