Romania imported in the first five months of 2018 an amount of crude oil exceeding 3.46 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE), 21.8 percent higher than that imported in the similar period of 2017, according to centralized data from INS.
Oil production totaled 1,394 million toe, 2.9 percent less than in the previous year. According to the Energy Strategy project, published on the website of the Ministry of Energy, a half-life of domestic oil production is estimated at about 2 million tons in 2030.
Increased dependence on imports can be avoided in the medium and long term only if the exploration and production activities are encouraged, and by increasing efficiency in the consumption of petroleum fuels.
It is also estimated that crude oil production will continue to decline slowly between 2030 and 2050, from 22 to 13 TWh (1.93 to 1.15 million toe).
Romania’s proven crude oil reserves will be exhausted in 12-15 years at this operating rate.