Neptun Deep: A Reckless Run for Gas in the Black Sea
Location:
Romania, Black Sea
Project risks:
Environmental Destruction, Litigation
Neptun Deep gas project:
- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
- OMV AG
- OMV Petrom SA
- SNGN Romgaz SA
Tuzla-Podișor pipeline:
- SNTGN Transgaz SA
Approximate location of the Neptun Deep Project
The three oil and gas companies OMV, its subsidiary OMV Petrom and state-owned Romgaz are taking first steps to start construction of their Neptun Deep gas project in the Black Sea.19274 Neptun Deep is one of the EU's largest gas extraction projects. The companies named the project after Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea. However, this gas project is not a gift from God. On the contrary, it is endangering the Black Sea's fragile ecosystem.1927519276 The companies plan to extract huge gas reserves from under the sea off Romania'scoast. A broad alliance of scientists, lawyers and environmental groups in Romania and Austria has joined the fight to stop Neptun Deep and its backers at all levels.
Note: Reputational risk projects on GOGEL are updated annually. This article was last updated January 26 2026.
Turning the Fragile Black Sea into a Construction Site
OMV Petrom and Romgaz are turning Romania’s coastal waters into a construction site.19277 The Black Sea is already one of the most vulnerable inland seas in the world.1927819279 Its upper and lower water layers hardly intermix. 87% of the water in the Black Sea contains no oxygen because only the upper layers are able to absorb it.19280 Very few microorganisms have adapted to the extreme conditions in the lower layers, but the upper layers are teeming with life. They are home to three endemic types of dolphins, more than 200 different fish species and rare types of algae, mussels and plankton. In the past decades, global warming and pollution have resulted in a rise of the lower layers, compressing and thus reducing the habitable space for species dependent on oxygen.19281
Industry and pollution are already turning the Black Sea into Europe’s garbage dump. Some of Europe’s largest rivers flow into the Sea and flush plastic, chemicals and other waste into it. In 2019, the first waste island appeared in the Black Sea.19282 Pollution is putting marine wildlife under immense pressure. Overfishing, invasive species, chemicals, noise from marine traffic and oil and gas production further worsen the situation. This has led to a sharp decline in biodiversity.1928319284 Many local species, like the monk seal and the harbor porpoise, are on the verge of becoming extinct.1928519286 Russia’s war against Ukraine has further intensified the downward spiral for sea animals in the Black Sea.1928719288
The struggling Black Sea needs to be left in peace. The Neptun Deep Project multiplies the disruption. The gas in the Neptun Deep concession lies 160 kilometers off the Romanian coast in depths that range from 100 meters to 1000 meters.19289 To reach the gas, the companies need to drill 10 wells, construct three subsea production systems, one offshore platform and a 160 kilometer long pipeline that connects the platform to the mainland.19290 Drilling and construction noise endangers dolphins and other animals in the Black Sea that rely on their hearing to survive.19291 Loud underwater noises can permanently damage their hearing.19292 Without hearing, animals lose their orientation and the ability to find food. In the worst cases, they end up stranded on the shore.19293 The proposed 160 kilometer long pipeline crosses two different Natura 2000 natural reserves. These reserves are essential stopovers for many endangered birds on their migration routes.19294 To build the pipeline, construction ships would have to anchor in the reserves. The loud construction noises frighten the birds and drive them away.19295
Lax Security Measures
OMV Petrom’s history of careless security measures makes the risk of accidents at Neptun Deep alarmingly real. Recent investigations have revealed how severely rund down OMV Petrom’s operating gas platforms in the Black Sea are. Rust covers the supporting beams of the structure. This has caused loud, recurring warnings of a potential environmental disaster.19296 OMV Petrom’s negligence endangers everyone, from its employees to the most unsuspecting bystanders. After a fire in one of the company’s refineries killed a worker and heavily injured another in 2023, the company has come under investigation for jeopardizing employee safety.1929719298 OMV Petrom has been charged with manslaughter twice in the past 10 years for the death of children at extraction sites.1929919300193011930219303 For the Neptun Deep development, the companies have not provided complete information on the construction and production process. Environmental groups and the government of neighboring Bulgaria have criticized this lack of transparency, since it makes it impossible to fully assess the project’s environmental impact.1930425194 The companies also do not address the risks related to the war in the Black Sea. Underwater mines that explode regularly, could damage gas infrastructure and cause huge gas leaks.19305 Several drifting sea mines have already reached Romanian waters.1930619307
Gas for Whom?
Neptun Deep is meant to make Romania the largest gas producer in the EU.19308 However, politicians and the companies do not agree on who will receive the gas. Romanian politicians want to use the gas to revive local industry and replace the coal sector.19309 The companies, for their part, present the project as a milestone in achieving Europe’s independence from Russian gas supplies, suggesting much of the gas will be exported to other European countries.19310 The EU has already granted funding to the newly built Tuzla-Podișor pipeline that connects Neptun Deep to the European gas network. Notably, the money for the pipeline comes from the emissions trading system, the EU’s self-proclaimed cornerstone policy to combat climate change.19311193121931319314 OMV Petrom’s parent company OMV wants to reap the benefits from the EU’s shift away from Russian gas. Meanwhile, the Austrian company maintained its long-term gas purchase contracts with the Russian gas giant Gazprom for more than two years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.25195 The deal has come under fierce criticism for bankrolling the Kremlin war machine.193151931619317
What’s too often ignored in the political wrangling over Neptun Deep: Most Romanians want to see more support for their country’s transition to renewable energies.1931819319 Instead of listening to them, OMV Petrom is expanding its extraction plans in the Black Sea.1932019321 The company entered into a partnership with the Israeli company NewMed Energy for exploring the neighboring Han Asparuh gas block.25196 Han Asparuh is expected to produce a similar amount of gas as Neptun Deep.25198 The gas reserves lie even deeper below the water surface.25197 New gas projects run counter to the country’s climate mitigation objectives, as the OECD pointed out in 2024 report.19323 Throughout its planned life cycle, Neptun Deep alone would cause roughly the same greenhouse gas emissions as OMV's headquarter country Austria emits as a nation over 3,5 years.19324 Most likely, the project’s carbon footprint will be higher than the companies’ optimistic estimates.1932519326
Cross-border Opposition
As the companies proceed with the project, opposition is rising.19327 Romanian and Bulgarian civil society groups have initiated campaigns and petitions against Neptun Deep and organized protests on land and sea.193281932925199 Austrian groups have been confronting OMV at its headquarters.19330 76 Austrian scientists signed an open letter to OMV. They are demanding a halt to the Neptun Deep project.19332 In February 2024, Greenpeace took OMV Petrom, Romgaz and the involved authorities to court over irregularities in the approval process for one of the project’s environmental permits. The environmental group argues that the permit is lacking crucial impact assessments on climate change, water bodies and the health of the population.19331 After losing the case, they announced they will appeal against the decision and continue to challenge the project in court.25200 The companies are not happy about the unwavering opposition to their project. In June 2025, Romgaz filed a lawsuit against Greenpeace Romania aimed at shutting down the entire organization.25201 The case has since been settled, but still shows what lengths the companies are willing to go to. However, the project’s opponents won't stop calling for an end to the Neptun Deep project, true protection of the vulnerable Black Sea, and climate solutions that put people’s interests before corporate profits.
Groups working on the issue: Greenpeace in Central and Eastern Europe, Bankwatch Romania, Re-Set, Gastivists Network, System Change not Climate Change, Attac Austria, Fridays for Future Austria
Further Reading:
https://suport.greenpeace.ro/salvammareaneagra#podpisz
https://vig.re-set.cz/
Sources:
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/natura-2000
meaning OMV has to pay either way, whether they take the gas or not. Legal experts argue that OMV missed
the opportunity to exit the deal when Gazprom was limiting gas flow to Austria back in 2022 and 2023.
For more information, see: https://www.kleinezeitung.at/wirtschaft/18102262/warum-der-ausstieg-aus-omv-ver…
the project’s life cycle emissions amount to 276 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from drillings, operations and combustion of the gas.
See https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GQmzOxmRt2Z_CJwyXZyD33bHabXrlfVn, EIA document „BMF-ND-EIA-06-GS02 EN.pdf“ P.47.
For Greenpeace assessment, see: https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20240213_OTS0001/greenpeace-omv-bedroht…
