Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Romania
Location: | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Climate: | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Terrain: | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
Size: | 237500 sq. km total (Land area: 230340 sq. km Water area: 7160 sq.km) |
Population: | 22,246,862 (July 2008 est.) |
Languages: | Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2% |
Government: | republic |
Capital city: | Bucharest |
Legal system: | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Currency: | "new" leu (RON) was introduced in 2005; "old" leu |
Licensing: |
Country profile
The countries of Southeastern Europe--Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova-- have had problems transitioning from centrally-planned economies to a market-based economies. Both Bulgaria and Romania were significantly affected by the economic embargo placed on Yugoslavia in the 1990s, suffering billions of dollars in GDP losses due to disrupted trade, transport, and investment. While Moldova was less affected economically by the wars in the former Yugoslavia, its own civil war began soon after its independence, paralyzing the country's already stagnant economy. Armed conflict has subsided, but Russian settlers and Moldovans on the left bank of the Dnistr River still maintain the secessionist Transdnistrian Republic, created when the fighting reached a stalemate.
Both Romania and Bulgaria joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in March 2004 and aspire to membership in the European Union (EU). Romania concluded energy negotiations necessary for EU membership in June 2004, and in October 2004, the European Commission (EC) designated Romania a “functioning market economy,” another prerequisite for EU membership. In February 2005, Bulgaria announced that its energy sector was 66 percent privatized in accordance with EU directives. Both Romania and Bulgaria are working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bolster their economies, showing solid real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates in 2005 of 4.1 percent in Romania and 5.5 percent in Bulgaria. Unlike Romania and Bulgaria, Moldova is not currently being offered EU membership and has only received an Action Plan within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).
Implementation of the EU-Moldova Plan will require a modernization of the economy and a more welcoming environment for investment and business. Since privatization was initiated in 2000, Moldova’s GDP has continued to increase, with GDP growth of 7.1 percent in 2005. Despite the rapid growth of recent years, Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe.
Energy production and consumption
Oil | Gas | |
Production: | 122,700 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 12 billion cu m (2007) |
Consumption: | 236,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 17 billion cu m (2007) |
Exports: | 92,510 bbl/day (2005 est.) | |
Imports: | 181,100 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 4 billion cu m (2007) |
Reserves: | 955 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.) | 96 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Major fields: |
Romania - recent news
22 Apr 24 |
Romania: ABL to provide marine warranty survey services for Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea OMV Petrom have appointed global energy and marine consultancy ABL to provide Marine Warranty Survey (MWS) services for the construction of Romania’s Neptun Deep Gas Field Project in the Black Sea. |
21 Feb 24 |
Romania: Oil Dynamics grows its business in Romania OMV Petrom and Oil Dynamics have signed two additional five-year supply and service contracts for over 180 electric submersible pumps (ESP) to Romania. |
08 Jan 24 |
Romania: OMV Petrom signs the largest acquisition of green projects in Romania OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy company in Southeast Europe, will acquire from RNV Infrastructure a 50% stake in Electrocentrale Borzesti, which holds approx. 1 GW capacity of renewable projects, out of which 950 MW wind and 50 MW photovoltaic. The projects will be further developed, built and operated in partnership with RNV Infrastructure. |
12 Dec 23 |
Romania: Transocean announces $251 million harsh environment semisubmersible contract Transocean has announced a minimum 540-day contract for the Transocean Barents with OMV Petrom in the Romanian Black Sea at a rate of $465,000 per day, excluding additional services. The program is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025 and is estimated to contribute approx. $251 million in backlog, excluding full compensation for mobilization and a demobilization fee. |
20 Nov 23 |
Romania: Corinth Pipeworks awarded a contract to manufacture and supply the pipeline for OMV Petrom’s Neptun Deep Project in the Black Sea Corinth Pipeworks, as subcontractor of Sumitomo Corporation Europe, will manufacture and supply approx. 160km of longitudinally submerged arc-welded steel pipes (LSAW) for the development of an offshore natural gas pipeline for OMV Petrom’s Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea. |
Romania - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Ireland,
- Italy,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan