Romgaz has filed a direct action against the European Commission with the Court of Justice of the European Union, mainly requesting the annulment of the NZIA Regulation, which requires oil and gas producers in the European Union to ensure a CO2 storage capacity of 50 million tons/year by 2030, of which Romania has a quota of 10.25 million tons of CO2/year, and the company a quota of 4.12 million tons of CO2/year.
“On 16 October 2025, SNGN Romgaz SA filed a direct action with the Court of Justice of the European Union against the European Commission. Through this action, the company mainly requests the annulment of Delegated Regulation no. 1477/2025 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 of the European Parliament and of the Council and the annulment of Commission Decision (EU) 2025/1479 of 22 May 2025 specifying the proportional contributions to the Union objective on CO2 injection capacity by 2030 from oil and gas producers in the European Union. Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, also known as the NZIA regulation, supplemented by the two normative acts whose annulment ROMGAZ requests, requires oil and gas producers in the European Union to ensure a CO2 storage capacity of 50 million tonnes/year by 2030, of which Romania is entitled to a share of 10.25 million tons of CO2/year, and Romgaz, one of the three Romanian companies obliged, a quota of 4.12 million tons of CO2/year”, it is mentioned in a Romgaz press release, published on the BVB website, according to Agerpres.
According to the cited source, the storage obligation of Romanian companies represents more than 20% of the EU storage objective, given that our country is responsible for only about 3% of the total CO2 emissions of the EU manufacturing sector between 2020 and 2023.
“Thus, Romgaz’s decision to file a direct action against the European Commission comes in the context in which the regulatory acts that the company is challenging in court induce a significant disproportionality and an anti-competitive practice on the oil and natural gas market to the detriment of EU producers”, claim Romgaz representatives.
Last but not least, the obligation imposed on Romgaz and other oil and gas producing companies requires significant investments without these being conditioned by the existence of economic feasibility conditions or exigible guarantees.
“As the main natural gas producer in Romania, Romgaz fully assumes its strategic role and related responsibilities – both in guaranteeing the continuous security of natural gas supply, as well as in the decarbonization of the industry and the transition to green energy. In this context, the company has evaluated and analyzed multiple scenarios and options for reducing its carbon footprint and implementing green projects, with the objective of defining the optimal trajectory for achieving the decarbonization targets assumed by the Paris Agreement. Among the options analyzed are investments in CO2 storage facilities in depleted natural gas fields or in saline aquifers. Romgaz has also initiated in-depth technical studies and analyses to identify the potential of such fields and to assess the feasibility of transforming them into CO2 storage facilities,” said the company’s CEO, Răzvan Popescu, quoted in the press release.
He said that Romgaz will not engage in projects that violate market rules, that involve major operational risks or that could harm the company, its shareholders or the Romanian state.
“We remain firmly committed to implementing European Union policies, including the Green Deal, as well as the new competitiveness and economic recovery objectives set this year. However, Romgaz will not engage in projects that violate market rules, that involve major operational risks or that could harm the company, its shareholders or the Romanian state. We believe that Delegated Regulation No. 1477/2025 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as well as Commission Decision (EU) 2025/1479 of 22 May 2025 expose us to such risks; consequently, we have decided to exercise all available legal levers and will challenge these regulatory acts before the European courts,” Popescu added.
In his turn, Romgaz’s Deputy General Manager, Aristotel Jude, emphasized that this is the first time the company has taken such a step, but it is generated by the “serious implications” that the provisions of the NZIA Regulation have on Romgaz, but also on the consumer’s affordability of the price of goods produced in enterprises/factories where CO2 capture, transport and injection measures are required, as their cost will inevitably increase.
“Romgaz filed a direct action against the European Commission on October 16, 2025, at the European Court of Justice. This is the first time that the company has taken such an action, generated by the serious implications that the provisions of the NZIA regulation, of the Delegated Regulation no. 1477/2025, and of the Commission Decision (EU) 2025/1479 of 22 May 2025 have on the company, and more than that, I say it very directly, finally, on the consumer’s affordability of the price of goods produced in enterprises/factories etc. where CO2 capture, transport and injection measures are required. Inevitably, the cost of such products will increase, in my opinion, beyond the limit of affordability. And when I refer to serious implications, I also refer to the economic risks, in the context in which we are obliged to make investments of several hundred million euros without these being able to be conditioned, in a real way, on the provision of guarantees regarding recovery of the investment, but also to technical and environmental risks. It is worth highlighting the fact that the few CO2 storage projects implemented or in the development phase are in off-shore deposits, eliminating the risk of soil or water contamination in inhabited areas in the event of potential migrations. There are European states that for this reason have banned CO2 storage in on-shore deposits by law”, said Jude.
The Deputy General Manager of Romgaz showed that it is the first time that the European Parliament/European Commission, through a European regulation/delegated regulation/decision, directly imposes obligations, including pecuniary ones, on companies subject to corporate rigors and the rules of the commercial markets on which they operate, without a prior technical and economic impact study having been carried out that would show the technical and economic feasibility in relation to the imposed obligations.
“However, we are willing to fully cooperate with the European Commission and the European Parliament to find the best technically and economically feasible solutions, based on all impact studies carried out prior to the issuance of such regulations, which will ensure a sustainable future for both the company, the environment and end customers,” said Aristotle Jude.