The multinational energy giant Chevron has begun to turn back its plans to explore for shale gas in Romania. Chevron has stated that this decision has been met as the project in Romania “does not currently compete (favorably) with other investment opportunities in [its] global portfolio”, according to CNBC news.
Last month Chevron terminated shale gas agreements in Ukraine and Lithuania, and therewith, in combination with its recent withdrawal from Romanian, the company’s European vision has been laid to rest.
With regard to the company’s disengagement from Romania, Chevron Spokesperson Kent Robertson said “Chevron intends to pursue relinquishment of its interest in these (Romanian) concessions in 2015” in an email which was sent to Reuters. In 2014, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta sought to put an end to controversies over shale gas exploration by saying that Romania in fact did not have any shale gas reserves. Nonetheless, Chevron still continued to analyze the possibility of shale gas reserves in northeastern Romania before ultimately deciding to terminate its research.
However, the US Energy Information Administration has estimated that Romania’s shale gas resources are the third largest deposit in Europe after those found estimated to lie within France and Poland. In response, the Romania government cancelled its moratorium on hydraulic fracking in March 2013 and Chevron commenced initial exploration activities in 2014 in the country despite public opposition.
On the other hand, environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace have seen Chevron’s withdrawal as a major victory. “[It is] mostly a victory of the common people, the villagers, who stood up for their villages, for their land and their children against both the careless corporates and the Romanian Government”, Greenpeace Romania Campaign Coordinator Alexandru Riza told Sputnik, going on to say, “But I am quite skeptical that there will be others willing to risk losing so much money on results that have been unconfirmed.” Here, Riza added that Greenpeace will continue its work to protect people and the environment from the multiple risks posed by hydraulic fracking.
By Merve Göktaş
February 26, 2015
Source :
www.eurasiareview.com/26022015-chevron-decides-to-end-shale-gas-exploration-in-romania/
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JTW
JTW – the Journal of Turkish Weekly – is a respected Turkish news source in English language on international politics. Established in 2004, JTW is published by Ankara-based Turkish think tank International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
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