Cetatea de Baltă gas field

The Cetatea de Baltă gas field is a natural gas field located in Cetatea de Baltă, Alba County, Romania. Discovered in 1900, it was developed by Romgaz, beginning production of natural gas and condensates in 1910. By 2010 the total proven reserves of the Cetatea de Baltă gas field were around 1.42 trillion ft3 (40 km3), with a production rate of around 35 million ft3/day (1×105 m3).[1]

Cetatea de Baltă
CountryRomania
RegionAlba County
Offshore/onshoreonshore
OperatorRomgaz
Field history
Discovery1900
Start of development1900
Start of production1910
Production
Current production of gas1,000×10^3 m3/d
35×10^6 cu ft/d 0.36×10^9 m3/a (13×10^9 cu ft/a)
Estimated gas in place40×10^9 m3
1.42×10^12 cu ft

History

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The discovery of natural gas in the Transylvanian Basin in 1909 at Sărmașel led to the establishment in 1915 of the Hungarian Gas Company (U.E.G.), with headquarters in Budapest. The company secured concession of the gas fields at Cetatea de Baltă, Șaroș, Bazna, Zau de Câmpie, Sânger, Șincai, Nadeș, and Teleac, in order to exploit and capitalize on those natural gas deposits. The Union of Transylvania with Romania at the end of World War I led to the seizure of the assets of U.E.G., whose majority capital was German.[2] By 1955, the gas field at Cetatea de Baltă was connected to the national distribution network, supplying natural gas to the capital city, Bucharest.[3]

In 2017, the Cetatea de Baltă gas field facilities conducted a training exercise to practice emergency procedures in the event of gas well explosions or fires.[4]

Underground gas storage

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In April 2002 Romgaz completed an underground gas storage (UGS) site at the Cetatea de Baltă gas field as a prototype for large-scale natural gas storage. The natural gas extraction and storage processes were initially configured to support 8 wells before being expanded to 14.[5] By 2006, additional UGS sites had been installed in Târgu Mureș and at the gas fields of Sărmășel and Nadeș, with depths ranging from 450 to 1,300 m (1,480 to 4,270 ft).[6]

In 2015, the German multinational electric utility company E.ON signed an 11 million lei contract to store gas at the Cetatea de Baltă facility for one year.[7] In 2018, Romgaz created a new subsidiary to manage the storage of natural gas at six additional UGS sites: Bălăceanca (0.55 TWh), Bilciurești (14.33 TWh), Cetatea de Baltă (0.65 TWh), Ghercești (1.63 TWh), Sărmășel (9.6 TWh), and Urziceni (4.02 TWh).[8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Industria de gaze naturale in perioada interbelica" (PDF). Muzeul Gazelor. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  2. ^ Chisăliță, Dumitru (May 12, 2013). "De ce a fost ales Mediașul reședința companiei de gaz?" [Why was Mediaș chosen as the headquarters of the gas company?]. Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Jordan, Constantin (1955). The Romanian Methane Gas Industry. Mid-European Studies Center, Free Europe Committee. p. 38.
  4. ^ "Exercițiu ISU Alba, la Cetatea de Baltă. Intervenție în cazul unor accidente tehnologice urmate de explozii şi incendii la sondele de gaz" (in Romanian). March 15, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "Comunicat de Presă". arhiva.gov.ro (in Romanian). Government of Romania. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Falk, Isabela (2006). "Geological characteristics of underground gas storages from Romania". Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai, Geologia. 51 (1–2): 71–73. doi:10.5038/1937-8602.51.1.11.
  7. ^ Oprea, Alina (June 20, 2015). "Romgaz și E.ON au încheiat un contract de 11 milioane de lei pentru înmagazinarea gazelor". Business Magazin (in Romanian). Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "Romgaz: Activitatea de înmagazinare gaze naturale va fi separată de la 1 aprilie; o nouă filială va deveni operațională". Agerpres (in Romanian). March 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  9. ^ "Depozitul de la Sărmășel trece la Filiala de Înmagazinare Gaze Naturale a Romgaz". Zi de Zi (in Romanian). March 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2024.