Romanian Chemical Plants Asks Govt To Extend Gas Incentive

Representatives of the employers’ federation and unionists will protest from Tuesday to Thursday, between GMT0700 and GMT1200.

The federations said, in a common statement, that these incentives have substantially contributed to keeping the balance within the national gas transport system and to sustain the revenues of state-owned gas producer Romgaz Medias and gas pipeline operator Transgaz (TGN.RO).

The Government’s decision to allow certain companies to use only locally-producer natural gas, which comes at half the price of imported gas, was approved in May 2009 and extended last October by another year.

The measure helped several companies in the chemical and petrochemical industry and the fertilizers’ sector to survive and keep employees, representatives of the two federations said.

Due to this incentive, the plants received 60%-70% of the natural gas from the local production, while the rest was imported or bought from oil company OMV Petrom (SNP.RO), said FSLCP president Achille Dutu.

According to the two federations, extending the respective incentive is „absolutely necessary.”