ANRE vice-president Dan Iuliu Plaveti on Thursday said the consumption cut was triggered by several factors, including the halt of Russian gas imports to Europe for three weeks in January, during which Romania used exclusively natural gas from the local production. The fall in gas consumption was also due to the financial crisis, which forced several big consumers to cease or reduce their operations.
In the first seven months of 2009, gas imports registered a decrease compared with the same period a year earlier, and the Economy Ministry announced that large consumers would only get gas from the local output, which is cheaper, until November.
Romania’s main gas producers are state-owned Romgaz Medias, and Petrom (SNP.RO), part of Austrian group OMV.