Gas imports up 2 pct in first 11 months of 2023, production up 1.7 pct
Romania imported, in the first 11 months of 2023, a quantity of usable natural gas of 1.995 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), 2% higher (+39,800) than in the same period last year, according to data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Domestic production of natural gas in the period January-November 2023 exceeded 6.841 million toe, 1.7% higher than in the first 11 months of 2022 (+117,500 toe).
According to estimates by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis (CNSP) , natural gas production is expected to rise at an average annual rate of 3.6% between 2023 and 2026, following a 1.1% decline (to 7.343 million toe) in 2022.
In its latest Energy Balance Forecast, the CNSP anticipates an increase in gas production of 5.6% in 2023 (to 7.755 million tonnes of oil equivalent), 2.3% in 2024 (to 7.935 million toe), 2.7% in 2025 (to 8.15 million toe) and 3.8% in 2026 (to 8.455 million toe).
As regards natural gas imports, a sharp decrease is forecast for 2023, by 23.1%, a trend that will continue until 2026, with an average annual rate of 2.2%.
Thus, for this year, imports are estimated at 1.845 million toe, for 2024 at 1.79 million toe (minus 2.8%), for 2025 at 1.755 million toe (minus 2.1%) and for 2026 at 1.725 million toe (minus 1.8%).
Last year, natural gas imports fell by 16.5% to around 2.4 million toe, while exports stood at 470,000 toe.