Black Sea oilmen should employ Romanian companies

Oil companies operating in the Black Sea should employ Romanian companies, which, even if they do not currently have deep-water drilling installations, may buy them in the future, said on Tuesday Gheorghe Constantin, chairman of the Competent Authority for Regulation of Offshore Oil Operations in the Black Sea (ACROPO). 

At an energy conference, he was asked if the latest form of the Offshore Oil Activity law retains the obligation on investors to work with Romanian firms. 

"Why is that a bad thing? What is wrong with obliging or asking an investor to create a workforce, to use Romanian hands? This is happening all over the world, I'm telling you, as I have walked all over the world and it's the same everywhere else. Every country is trying to protect its workforce. Why should someone else come when there are so many unemployed people?," said Constantin. 

He also said that these projects could attract back Romanian specialists who went to work for the offshore oil industry abroad. 

At the same time, he was asked if there were Romanian companies to hold the equipment the Black Sea oilmen may need, who would drill deep down, to which he answered in the negative. 

"At present, no, there aren't. Deep-water drilling means over 150 metres of water. We have no installations capable of reaching such depth; the only installations that are currently in the possession of a Romanian company, Oil Services Group, are installations that are jack-up platforms, which can be used for a maximum water depth of 100 metres. So, unfortunately, we do not have what it takes for farther down," said the ACROPO official. 

However, the development of this sector may cause Romanian companies to purchase such equipment in the future, he added: "If this area begins to develop, as expected, next year one or two Romanian companies can invest in the purchase of semi-submersible platforms or drill ships."