Șincai gas field

Șincai
Șincai
Country	Romania
Region	Mureș County
Offshore/onshore	onshore
Operator	Romgaz
Field history
Discovery	1915
Start of development	1915
Start of production	1930
Production
Current production of gas	500×103 m3/d; 17.5×106 cu ft/d 0.18×109 m3/a (6.4×109 cu ft/a)
Estimated gas in place	10×109 m3; 355×109 cu ft

The Șincai gas field is a natural gas field located in Șincai, Mureș County, Romania.^[1] Discovered in 1915, it was developed by Romgaz, beginning production of natural gas and condensates in 1930. By 2010 the total proven reserves of the Șincai gas field were around 355 billion ft³ (10 km³), with a production rate of around 17.5 million ft³/day (0.5×10⁵ m³).^[2]

History

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. The oldest deposits exploited by Romgaz are in Mureș County, where natural gas has been extracted since 1913.^[3] Deposits of methane gas occur in three main areas; the first area is in the northwest and includes the Sărmașel, Zau de Câmpie, and Șincai gas fields.^[4]^: 216

The first natural gas deposit in Romania was discovered in 1909, in Sărmașel, about 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Șincai. In 1913, the first production of methane gas was recorded at Sărmașel, of 113×10³ m³ (4.0×10⁶ cu ft).^[3] The discovery of natural gas in the Transylvanian Basin in 1909 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.^[5] In the interwar period, Romania's program of geological works and drilling was amplified, highlighting the gas deposits from Copșa Mică, Bazna, Șaroș, and Șincai.^[6]^[7]