Romania’s Former PM To Solve Black Sea Resources Scandal In Court

Iulian Iancu, a former secretary of state in the Economy Minister and the current head of the industries commission in the Chamber of Deputies, said last week that Romania’s Mineral Resources Agency ANRM and the Finance Ministry should justify the former government’s decision to transfer to Sterling Resources the right to distribute the production of the Black Sea oil and gas reserves assigned by contract.

Iancu said he asked for these data, as there are certain doubts on the lease issue, adding that an investigation commission would be set up in this respect if necessary.

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc said Monday that the emergency decree by which the contract between ANRM and Canadian company Sterling for the exploitation of Black Sea reserves was turned from a drilling contract into a lease contract was still at the Parliament and could still be rejected.

By the contract signed between ANRM and Sterling Resources, the Romanian state has allegedly transferred to Sterling the oil and gas resources in the two blocks stipulated in the contract before the decision of the International Court of Justice on the maritime border between Romania and Ukraine.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague recently drew a new maritime border between Romania and Ukraine, settling a 40-year-old dispute. The ruling gives Romania 9,700 square kilometers of exclusive economic zone, accounting for 79.34% of the 12,000 sq km disputed surface.

Romania’s Government Control Body began Monday to check, at the ANRM headquarters, the documents allowing Canada’s Sterling Resources to extract crude oil and natural gas from the Black Sea.