Wess Mitchell (Department of State): “We look forward to the passage of the Offshore Gas Law”

The US hopes that Romania’s parliament will pass a bill regulating offshore oil and gas developments in a move designed to spur investments in this area, said Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state, during a speech in Bucharest.

Mitchell said that the US promotes the diversification of fuel types, routes, and sources, and the interconnectors that link them.

“For this reason, we support intra-European pipelines like the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, and the Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria pipeline. We stand with the European Union and a plurality of its member states in opposing Nord Stream 2. And we oppose the multi-line TurkStream pipeline that would give Russia the means to continue its virtual monopoly on gas imports to South Eastern Europe,” said Mitchell.

He went on to say that Romania is a crucial component of Europe’s energy security, adding that the US looks forward to the passage of a law regulating offshore investments in the oil and gas sector.

“Today U.S. companies play a role in the exploration and development of new discoveries onshore and in the Black Sea that have the potential to make Romania a natural gas exporter. This new sources will strengthen Romania’s economy and advance energy security throughout the region. We look forward to the passage of the Offshore Gas Law and applaud Romania’s expeditious development of the infrastructure and resources for the BRUA pipeline across its territory,” said the official

US ExxonMobil is jointly doing offshore explorations with OMV Petrom in the Black Sea. The companies have already discovered a significant gas deposit.