Government Emergency Ordinance 139/2024 (adopted 4 December 2024, published in Monitorul Oficial 1225/2024) rewrote the operative core of Romania’s CO2 storage regime: Emergency Ordinance 64/2011, which transposed EU Directive 2009/31/EC and was approved by Law 114/2013. The 2024 ordinance was driven explicitly by the EU Net-Zero Industry Act (Regulation 2024/1735) and its 50 Mt union-wide 2030 injection objective with proportional oil-and-gas-producer contributions. Its centrepiece is speed: the regulator ANRMPSG may now issue a storage permit directly to the holder of a valid petroleum agreement covering the site, with no prior exploration phase, provided existing data already characterises the formation and the holder proves technical and financial capacity (new Articles 7(8^1)-(8^4)), including conversion or abandonment terms for legacy oil infrastructure. Complementing this, ANRE licenses the CO2 transport network layer (design/construction/operation authorisations plus an operating licence), the National Geological Fund is opened for storage-site studies, and every operator must also hold a greenhouse-gas emissions permit. Operating a storage site without a permit is now a criminal offence under Penal Code Article 348. ANRMPSG and ANRE must issue all implementing procedures within 18 months. National analysis behind the ordinance puts full-chain CCS delivery at 6-7 years, annual capture needs around 62 MtCO2, pipeline transport near 16 Mtpa and geological storage potential of at least 9 Mtpa, with Romania allowing both onshore and offshore storage nationwide.
National Governance Context
Romania Overview
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