Romania Preventing Gas Sales, says Serinus

A small independent gas producer in Romania has complained that it is being prevented from delivering gas into the national Transgaz pipeline system.

Jersey-registered Serinus Energy said October 18 its Moftinu gas plant is completed and able to operate at pressure with sustained production, but that since August 21 Transgaz has denied it access – claiming the gas contains too much water. Two months ago Serinus had expected to be selling its gas within days at or close to the gas plant's 15mn ft³/d capacity.

Serinus says it believes the gas quality, in excess of 90% methane, should be acceptable and that Romanian law provides for such minor quality differentials during initial production. Nonetheless it said it will work to remove any minor residual water – which it says currently is 0.21% at maximum – once new units (including a Triethylene Glycol, or TEG unit) are installed around December. It said that the units' Canadian manufacturer is almost a year behind schedule in fulfilling the order; shipment of the units into Bremerhaven, Germany, is expected on or around November 22.

In Tunisia, Serinus said it expects to be in a position to restart the Chouech Es Saida gas field in 1Q 2019; the field has been shut-in since February 2017 owing to labour unrest. Another small onshore field, Sabria, was restarted by the company in September 2017. Serinus CEO Jeffrey Auld has been critical of how industrial relations are handled in the country.