The EU’s largest gas extraction project is moving ahead.19274 OMV subsidiary OMV Petrom and state-owned Romgaz have decided to move forward with the Neptun Deep gas project in the Black Sea. They named the project after Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea. However, the gas project is no gift from God. Neptun Deep and the companies promoting it are threatening the Black Sea’s sensitive ecosystem and our climate.1927519276 Romanian and Austrian environmental groups have come together in their joint outrage to fight Neptun Deep and its backers at all levels.
Turning the Romanian Black Sea into a Construction Site
OMV Petrom and Romgaz want to turn 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 absorb oxygen from the atmosphere.19280 Only a 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 the habitable space for species dependent on oxygen closer to the surface.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 was discovered in the Black Sea.19282 Pollution is putting marine wildlife under immense pressure. Overfishing, invasive species, chemicals and noise from marine traffic as well as 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 extinction.1928519286 Russia’s war against Ukraine has only intensified the downward spiral for sea animals in the Black Sea.1928719288
The Neptun Deep Project is the exact opposite of what the already struggling Black Sea needs. The gas in the Neptun Deep concession lies 160 km from the Romanian coast in depths ranging from 100 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 km long pipeline connecting 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, the animals lose their orientation and the ability to find food. In the most severe cases, they can end up stranding on the shore.19293 The proposed pipeline crosses two different Natura 2000 natural reserves, which are essential stopovers for a variety of endangered birds on their migration routes.19294 To build the pipeline, construction ships would have to anchor in the reserves, disturbing the birds with loud construction noises.19295
Lax Security Measures
OMV Petrom’s history of negligent security measures makes the risk of accidents at Neptun Deep alarmingly real. Recent investigations have revealed the severely dilapidated condition of OMV Petrom’s operating gas platforms in the Black Sea. Rust covering the supporting beams of the structure have caused loud, recurring warnings of a potential environmental disaster.19296 OMV Petrom’s negligence endangers everyone, from its employees to the most unexpected bystanders. After a fire in one of the company’s refineries killed a worker and heavily injured another in 2023, the company is now under investigation for jeopardizing employee safety.1929719298 The company 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 refuse to provide complete information on the construction and production process. Environmental groups and the government of neighboring Bulgaria have criticized this lack of transparency, which makes it impossible to fully assess the project’s environmental impact.19304 The companies also do not address the risks related to the war in the Black Sea. Underwater mines, which explode regularly, could damage gas infrastructure and cause huge leaks.19305 Several drifting sea mines have already reached Romanian waters.1930619307
Gas for Whom?
Neptun Deep is supposed 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.19310 The EU has already granted funding to the pipeline that would connect 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 maintains long-term gas purchase contracts with the Russian gas giant Gazprom, a deal which has come under fierce criticism for bankrolling the Kremlin war machine193151931619317
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 is in the process of acquiring full control of the exploration licence for the neighboring Han Asparuh gas block, which is even larger than Neptun Deep.19322 New gas projects run counter to the country’s climate mitigation objectives, as recently pointed out by the OECD.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 three and a half years.19324 Most likely, the project’s carbon footprint will exceed the companies’ optimistic estimations.1932519326
Cross-border Opposition
As the companies proceed with the project, opposition is rising.19327 Romanian civil society groups have initiated campaigns and petitions against the project and organized protests on land and water.1932819329 Austrian groups are confronting OMV at its headquarters.19330 In February 2024, Greenpeace announced they are taking 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 Recently, 76 Austrian scientists signed an open letter to OMV demanding a halt to the Neptun Deep project.19332 Together, the project’s opponents are 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…
