An employee is seen at the site of the Midia natural gas development project in Vadu village on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Romania, on June 28, 2022. The start of gas production in the Romanian Black Sea is a historic moment, contributing to the country's efforts to achieve 90 percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday in Vadu village.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows the site of the Midia natural gas development project in Vadu village on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Romania. The start of gas production in the Romanian Black Sea is a historic moment, contributing to the country's efforts to achieve 90 percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday in Vadu village.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows gas pipelines at the site of the Midia natural gas development project in Vadu village on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Romania. The start of gas production in the Romanian Black Sea is a historic moment, contributing to the country's efforts to achieve 90 percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday in Vadu village.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Photo taken on June 28, 2022 shows the site of the Midia natural gas development project in Vadu village on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Romania. The start of gas production in the Romanian Black Sea is a historic moment, contributing to the country's efforts to achieve 90 percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday in Vadu village.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The start of gas production in the Romanian Black Sea is a historic moment, contributing to the country's efforts to achieve 90 percent self-sufficiency in natural gas supply, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday in Vadu village on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Romania.

"It is a historic moment for the Romanian energy industry...It is the first new natural gas exploitation project in the Romanian Black Sea area in the last 30 years, and the first quantities of gas have already been introduced into the domestic market this month," the prime minister told the opening ceremony for the natural gas production under the Midia natural gas development project.

"Romania is thus taking a decisive step in guaranteeing energy security," he said, adding that this project will generate 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and will help the country to cover 90 percent of its consumption needs.

The Midia project consists of five producing wells some 120 km offshore Romania, where the water depths are of 70 meters. When fully put into production, the project can provide 10 percent of the national gas demand.

Romania passed the Offshore Bill in mid-May to boost years shelved gas and oil exploration and production in the Black Sea.