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
26 Aug 25 |
Romania/Moldova: Qair consolidates position in Eastern Europe with 135.5 MW of secured wind projects in Moldova and Romania Independent renewable energy company Qair has reached a new strategic milestone by signing a power purchase agreement for its 27.5 MW wind project in Moldova, winner of the country’s first competitive tender, and by securing a second 50 MW Contracts for Difference (CfD) award in Romania for its Cobadin wind farm. |
11 Aug 25 |
Vestas wins 96 MW order in Romania Vestas has secured a 96 MW order in Germany as part of its Q3 order intake. Customer is OX2 Construction AB. Turbine delivery is expected by Q2 2026 and commissioning by Q1 2027. |
10 Aug 25 |
Romania: OX2 sells 96 MW onshore wind farm in Romania OX2 has sold a 96 MW onshore wind farm to HELLENiQ Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of HELLENiQ ENERGY Holdings. The Ansthall wind farm is located in eastern Romania and will feature 15 Vestas 6.4 turbines. |
31 Jul 25 |
Romania: Vestas signs 269 MW order to complete second phase of Romania’s largest wind farm First Look Solutions S.R.L., a subsidiary of Rezolv Energy, has placed a 269 MW order with Vestas to complete the second phase of Vifor wind farm in Buzau Country, Romania. Once both phases are fully operational, the Vifor project will become the largest wind farm in Romania and one of the largest onshore wind farms in Europe, with a total capacity of 461 MW. |
03 Jul 25 |
Romania: OMV Petrom has made a new natural gas discovery in Spineni, near Craiova OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe, has announced the discovery of a new natural gas reservoir in Spineni, located around 70 km north-east of Craiova. Well tests proved a production potential of 1,300 boe/day from the discovery well. |
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