U.S. company abandons fracking project in Romania

BUCHAREST -- The U.S. oil and gas company Chevron will this year cancel a project of exploration and production of shale gas in Romania.

U.S. company abandons fracking project in Romania

BUCHAREST -- The U.S. oil and gas company Chevron will this year cancel a project of exploration and production of shale gas in Romania.

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According to the local media, "the results of drilling in Romania did not justify hopes while progress has been too slow to extend the investment."

Late last year, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta admitted that exploration works carried out by Chevron had failed to produce results, despite significant investments.

"Romania is spending a lot of strength on something that basically does not exist. It looks like we do not have shale gas," the prime minister said, adding that the country would buy the additional gas it needs "from Gazprom."

Chevron experts initially assessed shale gas deposits in Romania to 51 billion cubic meters, which, they said, would be sufficient to supply the country with gas for a century.

The Romanian government at the time granted Chevron a three to five year permit to explore three potential deposits, and lifted a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Bucharest hoped that it would ensure energy security and end its dependence on Russia, considering that Gazprom supplies it with 20 percent of the gas it consumes.

Last summer, Chevron was forced to suspend works in the Romanian district Vaslui because of demonstrations and protests stated by local residents and environmentalists. They feared that the drilling and injection of large quantities of chemicals into the ground would cause environmental pollution.