CNP: Romania’s oil output to increase in the coming years, so will imports

After three years of decline, Romania’s oil production will increase as of 2017, according to the latest forecast of energy balance, drafted by the National Commission for Economic Forecasting (CNP).

Romania’s oil production fell by 1.9 percent in 2014, then by 5.4 percent in 2015 and will decline this year by another 0.8 percentage points, CNP data reveal.

However, the trend will reverse next year and will be maintained, according to the same source. In 2017 oil output will increase by 1.6 percent compared to the current year, and this growth rate will be kept in 2018 and 2019. Thus, if this year production will reach 3.71 million toe (tonnes of oil equivalent) in Romania in 2019 it will be 3.89 million toe.

The increase of crude oil imports processed in the Romanian refineries will be more pronounced.

If crude oil imports will grow by 3.1 percent this year, next year the growth will be of 4 percent and in 2018 and 2019, the annual increases will be by 3.8 percent, 3.7 percent respectively. Thus, if this year, the imports will be 6.8 million toe, they will reach 7.61 million toe in 2019.

At this moment, the share of oil in total primary energy production is 14.5 percent. It will increase slightly, up to 14.7 percent in 2019. As regards imports, crude oil represents now 58.6 percent of total imports of primary energy resources and its share will increase up to 61.4 percent in 2019.

Also, Romania imports petroleum products, which now represent 24.6 percent of total imports of primary energy resources. Their share will fall up to 23 percent in 2019.

Currently, Romania has three operational refineries: Petrom’s Petrobrazi, Petromidia owned by KazMunaiGas and LukOil’s Petrotel.