Romania's energy consumption
Romania's energy consumption is characterized by a diverse mix of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear, and renewable energy. As of 2022, fossil fuels accounted for 39.1% of Romania's energy supply, while renewables contributed approximately 40%, with hydropower being the largest component. The country has two nuclear reactors that generate about 18.6% of its electricity, reflecting its historical reliance on varied energy sources that began during a significant electrification effort in the mid-20th century. Romania is also taking steps towards sustainability, with ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 as part of its EU commitments.
Natural gas plays a crucial role in Romania’s energy landscape, with proven reserves of over 105 billion cubic meters. However, consumption has been decreasing over the years, indicating shifts in the economy and energy market. Oil also remains important, with domestic production meeting only a fraction of consumption needs, leading to heavy reliance on imports, primarily from Russia and Kazakhstan. The liberalization of the energy market has allowed for increased foreign investment, enhancing the sector's dynamics. The country's energy strategy is geared towards increasing renewable resources to meet EU targets, positioning Romania as an evolving player in the broader European energy framework.
Subject Terms
Romania's energy consumption
Official Name: Romania.
Summary: Romanian domestic production covers a large percentage of the country’s energy demand. Historically, the country's energy has been generated from a variety of energy sources, including coal, nuclear, oil, and natural gas. As a European Union member state, Romania has ambitious sustainability goals to reach by 2030.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the communist government of Romania began a 10-year electrification plan. Electric power generation experienced a spectacular increase between 1950 (2.1 terawatt-hours) and 1968 (75.5 terawatt-hours). This ambitious plan was in service of the nation’s forced industrialization, and the country often experienced power shortages and strict energy rationing for private consumers. During this period, the country’s dependence on coal and oil imports from the Soviet Union was gradually mitigated by the development of domestic hydropower. As of 2024, Romania had two nuclear reactors that generated 18.6 percent of its electricity.
Production and Consumption
In 2022, Romania had 62,594 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. As a European Union (EU) member state, Romania must reduce its emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Early development plans based on renewables still compensate for slowly growing industry and a shift in lifestyle. As of 2022, electricity production reached about 19.126 million kilowatt-hours, while its consumption was 49.805 billion kilowatt-hours. In the same year, exported electricity reached 7.429 kilowatt-hours, while imported electricity was about 9.653 kilowatt-hours. Fossil fuels made up 39.1 percent of its energy supply, followed by hydropower, nuclear energy, wind, and solar power. About 0.9 percent of its energy was generated by biomass and waste.
Natural Gas
As of 2022, proven natural gas reserves of 105.48 billion cubic meters. During the same year, it produced 9.501 billion cubic meters of natural gas and consumed 10.055 billion cubic meters. Romania’s natural gas consumption has been gradually decreasing, from 85.49 billion cubic feet (26.06 billion cubic meters) in 1992 to 50.88 billion cubic feet (15.51 billion cubic meters) in 2009. Both domestic production and imports halved during this interval. These numbers primarily reflect structural changes from the country’s raw-material-intensive socialist economy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Political decisions of the early 2000s opened the Romanian energy market to foreign investors. The German multinational company E.ON Ruhrgas invested 304 million euros in June 2005 taking over the distribution of natural gas in 20 northern counties of the country.
Imports of natural gas are mainly from Russian supplies via the main gas pipeline, Progress, which crosses Romania in the southeast. The proposed route of the Nabucco gas pipeline (also referred to as the Turkey-Austria pipeline) would connect Bulgaria to Hungary by complementing the national network of pipelines.
Oil
Romania has estimated crude oil reserves of 600 million barrels. The country produced 67,000 barrels per day in 2022 and consumed 221,000 barrels per day. Domestic production experienced a decrease of 34 percent between 1992 and 2009; during that period, oil consumption decreased more than 15 percent, from 102.2 billion barrels to 86.57 billion barrels. Fluctuations induced by growing demand between 1990 and 1995 and 2003 and 2008 were covered by oil imports (46–59 percent of general consumption), mainly from the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. After the liberalization of the energy market, Romanian investors took over the company Rompetrol (founded in 1974) and expanded it to become a major player in southeastern Europe (with sister companies in Ukraine, Georgia, and Albania) and in France (by owning the chain Dyneff). In 2007, Rompetrol became controlled through subsidies by the Kazakh company KazMunaiGaz after a transaction of 2.7 billion euros. In 2004, the Austrian company OMV Petrom took over the country’s largest gas station network, along with the majority of the refineries. OMV Petrom is one of the largest corporations in Romania and the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe.
Renewables
Renewable energy generated about 40 percent of Romania's electricity in 2022. About 25 percent of this electricity came from hydropower, 12.7 percent came from wind power, and 3.2 percent came from solar power. This put Romania on track to reach the EU's renewable target of 42.5 percent by 2030.
Bibliography
"Romania." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 30 July 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/romania/#energy. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.
Encyclopedia of the Nations. “Romania: Energy and Power.” www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Romania-ENERGY-AND-POWER.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.
“EU Energy and Transport in Figures.” European Commission, 2024, energy.ec.europa.eu/index‗en. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.
“Focus on Romania: The Energy Union Tour.” European Commission: Energy, EC, 2024, ec.europa.eu/energy/en/news/focus-romania-energy-union-tour. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.