High capacity booking interests for gas exports from Romania to Hungary for the next ten years indicate that regional companies may be preparing for the start of Black Sea gas production from 2027. Last year, Romania became the EU’s largest gas producer, a position that is likely to be further consolidated when output at the Neptun Deep bloc is set to start. Nevertheless, it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the project, which has faced political and regulatory headwinds over the years, and first volumes are set to reach markets at a time of numerous changes including surging global LNG production. In this latest podcast, Franck Neel, executive board member of OMV Petrom, the project operator, tells Aura Sabadus about latest developments at Neptun Deep, the company’s regional expansion plans and why Romanian Black Sea gas will have a competitive edge.