Russian company Gazprom, through NIS (a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft), has recently inaugurated the first gas station network in Romania. The officials of the company have announced that the number of gas stations will reach 120 by the end of 2015, following an investment of approximately 150 million Euros.
The company entered the Romanian market in 2012, when Serbian company NIS, a subsidiary of Gazprom opened the first gas station in Vestem, near Sibiu.
Also through NIS, the Russians of Gazprom are involved in the exploitation of natural resources in the Western part of the country.
Mr. Vadim Smirnov, the regional manager of NIS for Romania, granted us a brief interview in which he discussed the investments which Gazprom plans to make in Romania.
In spite of the reluctance of the authorities when it comes to the Romanian-Russian relations, which have been rather tepid over the last few years, Gazprom considers Romania a strategic market, which it wants to invest hundreds of millions of Euros in.
* Interview with Mr. Vadim Smirnov, NIS Regional Manager for Romania
Reporter: At the opening of the gas station network, many spoke about Gazprom as a future strategic partner for Romania. Besides the area of energy generation, what else might this strategic partnership include?
Vadim Smirnov: NIS has already established a stable supply of bunker fuel for ships in Constanța, (ed. note: this year, the company has acquired Marine Bunker Balkan of Constanţa, specializing in fueling ships), jet fuel for Timișoara, as well as bitumen for road construction whose quality meets the applicable European standards. Our division, Oilfield Services, has certified two new overhaul plants and oilfield services for operation in Romania and we plan to employ them in our operations in near future, most likely in autumn.
For NIS,
