Economics
ROMANIA
Oil Resources from Romania
By Maria Iulia
Ploiesti, the city we live in, can boast the first oil refinery in the world, opened in 1857,
which provided kerosene for street lighting. Bucharest thus became the first city in the
world to be lit with kerosene-fuelled street lamps in 1857.
Romania is an oil and gas producer, but the current level of production is not enough to
make the country self-sufficient. Although at one time Romania was Europe’s largest
producer of oil, most of its reserves were used during communiste regime and, as a
result, it is today a net oil and gas importer. As well, Romania is a mature processing
country, with numerous refining capacities and developed transport and storage
infrastructure.