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Ukraine’s Naftogaz Discusses Black Sea Gas Project With Romania’s OMV Petrom
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Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz is in early talks with Romania’s OMV Petrom about a possible partnership to develop offshore gas reserves in the Black Sea.
This was reported by Reuters on March 16, citing three industry sources.
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According to the sources, the discussions concern a gas field discovered by Naftogaz before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the size of the recoverable reserves has not been disclosed, one source described the deposit as “one of the most promising gas fields in the Black Sea region.” Romania and Turkey are already developing their own offshore projects there.
The talks are still at an early stage, and development of the field is not expected to begin until after the war ends, the sources said.
If the project moves forward, the discovery could strengthen Europe’s energy security as the region continues efforts to reduce dependence on Russian gas, Reuters reported.
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One of the sources said seismic surveys have already been partially completed near the site, which lies close to Romanian offshore blocks, and that both 2D and 3D geological data are available.
Ukraine is seeking cooperation with Western partners to obtain advanced deep-water extraction technology, including through business-to-business and government-to-government agreements, the source added.
The talks on gas development come as Ukraine and Romania are also expanding cooperation in defense and energy at the government level. On March 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Romanian President Nicușor Dan met in Bucharest and signed several agreements on defense cooperation and strategic partnership.
At a joint press conference, Dan said that one of the key agreements concerns cooperation in the defense sector, including the joint production of unmanned aerial vehicles in Romania.
“We talked about our cooperation in the military sphere, and one of the signed documents concerns specifically the joint production of drones in Romania,” Dan said. He added that the sides also signed a declaration on partnership in the energy sector.
Zelenskyy stated the agreements reflect the growing level of trust and cooperation between Kyiv and Bucharest, noting that Ukraine and Romania “truly deserve a meaningful strategic partnership,” which has now been formalized in the signed documents.
In addition, Ukraine’s Naftogaz Group and Poland’s energy company ORLEN have concluded an agreement for the delivery of 300 million cubic meters of US liquefied natural gas to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2026.
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