The Șaroș gas field is a

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

located in

Dumbrăveni Dumbrăveni (before 1945 ''Ibașfalău''; ; Saxon dialect: ''Eppeschdorf''; ) is a town in the north of Sibiu County, in the centre of Transylvania, central Romania. The town administers two villages, Ernea (''Ehrgang''; ''Argung''; ''Szászerny ...

Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Discovered in 1915, it was developed by

Romgaz Societatea Națională de Gaze Naturale Romgaz SA Mediaș (SNGN Romgaz SA) or simply Romgaz is the largest natural gas producer in Romania and one of the largest producers in Eastern Europe. The company is the country's main supplier and responsib ...

, beginning production of

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

and condensates in 1930. By 2010 the total

proven reserves Proven reserves (also called measured reserves, 1P, and reserves) is a measure of fossil fuel energy reserves, such as oil and gas reserves and coal reserves. It is defined as the "quantity of energy sources estimated with reasonable certaint ...

of the Șaroș gas field were around 2.84 trillion ft³ (80 km³), with a production rate of around 70 million ft³/day (2×10⁵ m³). The gas deposits in Romania have a very long history of exploitation, almost unique at the level of Europe and among the few such old fields that are still in production in the world. A quarter of Romania's natural gas reserves () are located in

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...

, and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, with the remaining 75% located near

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

gas reserve sites in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. A fifth of these sites are located in the Giurgeu-Brașov Depression and

, with the remainder located in Mureș County at sites such as

Luduș Luduș (; Hungarian: ''Marosludas'' or ''Ludas''; Hungarian pronunciation: , German: ''Ludasch'') is a town in Transylvania, Romania in Mureș County, south-west from the county's capital, Târgu Mureș. Six villages are administered by the to ...

, Șincai,

Bazna Bazna (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Baußen''; ) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bazna, Boian (''Bonnesdorf''; ''Bonnesdref''; ''Alsóbajom'') and Velț (''Wölz''; ''Welz''; ''Ve ...

, and

Nadeș Nadeș (, Hungarian pronunciation: ; ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the ...

. There are numerous mentions attesting natural gas emanations in the

Transylvanian Plateau The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern Carpathians, Eastern, Southern ...

. The existence of natural gas in

was known since the 17th century; people in

were often puzzled by " inextinguishable fires". In his 1929 Ph.D. dissertation, geologist mentions the unquenchable fires at Șaroș,

, and Copșa Mică. The oldest deposits exploited by Romgaz are in Mureș County, where gas has been extracted since 1913. In the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, Romania's program of geological works and drilling was amplified, with additional investment poured into extracting gas deposits from Copșa Mică,

, Șaroș, and Șincai. The Transylvanian gas fields occur along the central domes that arose by the folding of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

and

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Transylvanian Basin The Transylvanian Plateau (; ) is a plateau in central Romania. Description The plateau lies within and takes its name from the historical region of Transylvania, and is almost entirely surrounded by the Eastern, Southern and Romanian Weste ...

. At the Șaroș gas field, the initial rock pressure of the thirteen completed wells ranged from 400 to 715 pounds per square inch, corresponding with a range in depth from 640 to 1,255 feet. The Șaroș gas field was connected by a pipeline with the Noul Săsesc gas field, thus increasing the output of the latter field, which had been heavily tapped out during the winter, due to high consumption. Eventually, the Șaroș gas field was connected to the national network, supplying natural gas to the capital city,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saros Gas Field Natural gas fields in Romania

See also

References