I found this article on two different Romanian websites, which leads me to believe that it is current and accurate. Whoever put up that 1.5 million share bid likely saw this article last week.
Translated:
The largest oil company in Serbia, controlled by the Russian state giant Gazprom, is preparing the start of commercial production of crude oil and natural gas in Romania
NIS Petrol SRL, the Romanian division of the largest oil company in Serbia, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), controlled by the Russian state giant Gazprom, with over 56% of the capital, is preparing the start of commercial production of crude oil and natural gas from the Teremia Nord field , located on the Ex-7 Periam and Ex-8 Biled perimeters in Timiș County, where NIS Petrol is the majority concessionaire and operator, with 85% stakes, according to data analyzed by Profit.ro.
The company is close to starting the construction of a technological station for the collection, separation and delivery of hydrocarbons extracted from the Teremia Nord deposit, in the commune of Dudestii Vechi in Timiș.
There are currently 2 wells drilled on the site and another 8 are to be dug, according to the project documentation. Within the station, the production of the wells will be collected, the liquid will be separated from the gas, the extracted quantities will be measured, and the crude oil will be stored and later loaded into car tanks. NIS Petrol has a contract with the Romanian state company Conpet, the operator of the national oil pipeline transport system, based on which crude oil is unloaded from tanks and reloaded into wagons at Conpet's Biled ramp, to be transported by rail to the Serbian refineries of NIS at Pancevo and Novi Sad.
The Romanian subsidiary of the Serbian company owned by Gazprom estimates a daily production at the Dudeștii Vechi site of 100 tons of crude oil and 165,000 cubic meters of natural gas , of which 60,000 cubic meters – gas associated with crude oil. Part of the extracted gas quantities will be used in the production of electricity on site, and the rest will be fed into the national transmission system operated by Transgaz. For this, NIS Petrol will build a pipeline that will connect with the Nădlac-Arad gas pipeline . The first positive results of the explorations carried out in the Teremia Nord deposit were obtained in 2017, as Profit.ro reported exclusively at that time. Experimental production started in 2019.
According to the latest data from the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM), NIS Petrol is the majority concessionaire and operator of 4 Romanian hydrocarbon perimeters, all located in the west of the country: Ex-7 Periam, Ex-8 Biled and Ex-3 Băile Felix (in partnership with Canadians from East West Petroleum), as well as DEE V-20 Jimbolia (along with Armax Gaz). The concessions were granted in 2010 . 2 other oil agreements to which NIS Petrol is a party, those related to concessions Ex-2 Tria (in which East West Petroleum is also a partner) and Ex-12 Crai Nou (with operator Moesia Oil nad Gas), appear as inactive at ANRM. In the case of Ex-2 Tria, the agreement expired last year and was not extended, and NIS Petrol paid ANRM the value of the mandatory exploration works provided for in the agreement and left unexecuted , according to an official document analyzed by Profit.ro.
In the fall of 2022, several searches were carried out at the offices of NIS Petrol in Timișoara, in a DIICOT file with suspicions of illegal transmission of information on local hydrocarbon deposits . NIS responded publicly saying that the company's basic principle is strict compliance with applicable legal regulations . Since then, the Romanian judicial authorities have not communicated any information on this topic. Over the years, NIS Petrol has faced problems in the prospecting stages of the Romanian concessioned hydrocarbon perimeters, the works suffering delays due to the refusal of the owners to allow access to the lands. The reasons were their fear that the operator would pursue the exploitation of shale gas through the hydraulic fracturing method , NIS Petrol repeatedly denying that it had this intention , or the desire to protect its business, in the case of farmers .
NIS Petrol SRL, which also owns in Romania a chain of gas stations operated under the Gazprom brand , as well as a 7.5 MW gas-fired power plant in Jimbolia , ended 2022, the last reported year, with losses of over 116 million lei, to total revenues of almost 712 million lei, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance. Since the start of activity in Romania, in 2012, and until 2022 inclusive, the company has reported losses every year, in the cumulative figure of over half a billion lei. The Serbian parent company NIS, listed on the Belgrade Stock Exchange, finished last year with a net profit of around 60 million euros, on total revenues of over 870 million euros. Its main shareholders are Gazpromneft, the oil division of Gazprom (50%), Gazprom as such (6.15%) and the Serbian state (almost 30%).
