BUCHAREST: Romania's natural gas consumption rose 4.8 percent in 2010 from the prior year to some 147 million megawatt hours, with imports accounting for 15 percent on average, energy price agency data showed on Monday.
Romania is less reliant on Russian gas than other ex-communist bloc members. It imports around a third of its annual domestic consumption through intermediaries and produces the rest from local fields.
State-owned gas producer Romgaz and oil and gas firm Petrom , majority-controlled by Austria's OMV , provided the bulk of domestic gas, the data showed.
Prices of imports ranged between $329 and $386 per thousand cubic metres of gas during January-December.
While gas and electricity prices are administered by the energy price regulator and capped for various consumers, including all households, Romania has agreed to liberalize energy tariffs as part of its aid deal led by the International Monetary Fund.
Earlier this month, the IMF said Romania would start raising electricity and gas prices from this year for industrial consumers and eliminate regulated tariffs completely by 2015 to encourage competition.
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