Caragele
CountryRomania
RegionBuzău County
Offshore/onshoreonshore
OperatorRomgaz
Field history
Discovery2016
Start of development2020
Start of production2020+
Production
Estimated gas in place28.2×10^9 m3
986×10^9 cu ft

The Caragele gas field is a natural gas field located in Luciu, Buzău County, 105 km (65 mi) northeast of Bucharest. The field discovery was announced on June 30, 2016, by Romgaz, the Romanian national gas company. Caragele is part of the company's RG06 concession located in the North-Eastern Muntenia region. The Caragele gas field is a structure with a length of 35 km (22 mi) located at a depth of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in Jurassic calcareous reservoirs. It is one of the largest onshore discoveries in Romania in the past 10 years.[1][2] Sorin Grindeanu, the Prime Minister of Romania at the time, dubbed it "the most important discovery" since the fall of communism in 1989.[3]

Work at the gas field started in May 2017, with Grindeanu, PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, and Senate President Călin Popescu Tăriceanu attending the launching ceremony.[4][5] The gas field was scheduled to begin production after 2020 and will produce natural gas and condensates. The total proven reserves of the Caragele gas field are around 986 billion cubic feet (28.2 km³)—enough to ensure the country's entire consumption for up to three years[6]—with test production situated between 8.12 million cubic feet/day (0.23×105m³) and 12.76 million cubic feet/day (0.365×105m³) for each drilled well.[7]

In January 2020, Romgaz announced that it had boosted gas production by 30% from the Caragele field with the start up of new wells.[8] According to data provided by the Romanian Agency for Mineral Resources [ro], the Caragele field produced 282.672×106 m3 (1×1010 cu ft) of gas in 2022, making it the 5th largest in Romania in terms of natural gas production,[9] although its full potential remains to be realized. Indeed, the Caragele gas field had by then 30×109 m3 (1.1×1012 cu ft) in gas reserves, making it the field with the largest onshore gas reserves in Romania.[4] According to comments made in August 2022 by Virgil-Daniel Popescu, the then-Minister of Energy of Romania, the Caragele gas field will start full production in 2023;[4] one month later, the deadline was pushed to 2024.[6][10] Marcel Ciolacu (originally from nearby Buzău, and the current Prime Minister) estimated at the time that Caragele's gas could come online in early 2024.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Romgaz anunţă două noi descoperiri într-un perimetru din Muntenia". economica.net. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  2. ^ "New discovery in block RG 06 Muntenia Nord-Est" (PDF). romgaz.ro. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b Păvălașc, Marian (September 12, 2022). "Despite Living Atop A Gas Field, Romanian Villagers Are Still Burning Wood". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Păvălașc, Marian (August 18, 2022). "Comoara ignorată de la Caragele. România a plătit miliarde de euro pentru gaze pe care le putea scoate din propriul pământ" [The ignored treasure from Caragele. Romania paid billions of euros for gas that it could extract from its own land]. Radio Free Europe (in Romanian). Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "Grindeanu, Tăriceanu și ministrul Energiei participă la prezentarea celui mai mare zăcământ onshore de gaze naturale de la Caragele. Este așteptat și Dragnea" [Grindeanu, Tăriceanu and the Minister of Energy participate in the presentation of the largest onshore deposit of natural gas from Caragele. Dragnea is also expected]. Jurnalul de Buzău (in Romanian). May 12, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Romania's Romgaz to extract gas from Caragele field in 2024 – minister". Reuters. September 21, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "Romgaz anunță o descoperire "importantă" de hidrocarburi în România". Ziarul Financiar (in Romanian). Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  8. ^ "Romania's Romgaz boosts gas production by 30% from Caragele onshore field". www.spglobal.com. S&P Global. January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Dogar, Andreea (November 7, 2023). "Cele mai mari zăcăminte de gaze naturale din România după producția din 2022" [The largest natural gas fields in Romania after 2022 production]. Great News (in Romanian). Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  10. ^ Chirileasa, Andrei (September 22, 2022). "Romanian minister assures Romgaz will begin production at its largest onshore field in 2024". Romania Insider. Retrieved January 27, 2024.

External links

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