Romania Oil Imports: Proposal for National Crisis Center — NRG-IA

The Intelligent Energy Association (Asociația Energia Inteligentă) is proposing the establishment of a National Energy Security Dispatch Center to continuously monitor import routes, refinery output, vessels bound for Constanța, fuel stocks, transport and insurance costs, and military risks in the Black Sea. The proposal, put forward by the organization's president, Dumitru Chisăliță, does not represent a government decision and does not yet have an approved institutional or legal framework. The initiative has returned to the spotlight following attacks on tankers and facilities near the terminal operated close to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Following the temporary suspension of loadings, Kazakhstan reduced production to avoid filling its storage capacities. According to industry sources cited by Reuters, output at the Tengiz field temporarily dropped from an average of approximately 925,000 barrels per day to around 406,000 barrels, while national oil and condensate production fell from 2.07 million to 1.63 million barrels per day. These figures illustrate the scale of the disruption in Kazakhstan, rather than an equivalent reduction in Romania's supply. However, they demonstrate how quickly a military incident involving a vessel or terminal can reverberate through pipelines, oil fields, commercial contracts, and refineries thousands of kilometers away. Kazakh oil, Russian infrastructure, Romanian destination Most of the oil exported by Kazakhstan to the Black Sea is transported through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline system. The pipeline starts in western Kazakhstan, crosses Russian territory, and reaches the marine terminal near the port of Novorossiysk. While the oil is of Kazakh origin, delivery security depends on infrastructure located in Russia, terminal operations, tanker availability, and navigation conditions in the Black Sea. This separation between resource ownership and route control is one of the structural vulnerabilities of regional supply. The link to Romania is direct. Rompetrol notes that the Petromidia refinery is primarily supplied with Kazakh crude through commercial flows known in the industry as CPC and KEBCO. The latter is a Kazakh grade loaded at the Sheskharis terminal in Novorossiysk and transported by sea to the Midia offshore terminal, located near the refinery. In 2025, Petromidia processed approximately 5.9 million tonnes of raw materials, of which about 5.3 million tonnes were crude oil. According to the company, the Petromidia and Vega refineries account for 44.6% of Romania's refining capacity and can cover approximately 60% of domestic fuel demand. While these shares are operator estimates, they reflect the central role of the Năvodari refinery in supplying the Romanian market. Petromidia can process multiple types of crude, but replacing a source is not instantaneous. Crude oils differ in density, sulfur content, and the yield of diesel, gasoline, or aviation fuel that can be obtained. A change in origin may require new contracts, different vessels, process adjustments, and higher costs. Imports reach 3.6 times domestic production Romania continues to produce crude oil, but domestic volumes are insufficient to run refineries at current levels. Data from the National Institute of Statistics shows that national production was 2.472 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2025, down 7.6% year-on-year. Imports reached 8.894 million tonnes of oil equivalent, also up by 7.6%. Imports were thus approximately 3.6 times higher than domestic production. This ratio should not be confused with the exact share of imports at each individual refinery, as processed volumes, stocks, exports, and the product mix can vary. However, it confirms that Romania's oil security depends primarily on external supply. This dependence does not automatically represent a critical vulnerability. Many European nations import the majority of the oil they consume. The risk escalates when sources, ports, shipping routes, and transport capacities are concentrated in a region exposed to military conflicts. Romania is not starting from scratch The Romanian state already has a legal framework in place for managing oil disruptions. The law obliges operators to maintain emergency stocks, report quantities and storage locations, and release them when the competent authority declares a major disruption, a special emergency, or a local crisis. For the period from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, the total level of mandatory stocks has been set at 2,064,220 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). The "tonne of oil equivalent" is a standard unit used to compare crude oil and various petroleum products. The calculation used by the Ministry of Energy corresponds to average net imports for 90 days. At least one-third of the stock must be held in the form of petroleum products, such as diesel, gasoline, or aviation fuel, while a maximum of two-thirds can consist of crude oil. This distinction is important:…