| Șincai | |
| Country: | Romania |
| Region: | Mureș County |
| Offonshore: | onshore |
| Operator: | Romgaz |
| Discovery: | 1915 |
| Start Development: | 1915 |
| Start Production: | 1930 |
| Production Gas Mmcuft/D: | 17.5 |
| Production Gas Mmscm/D: | 0.5 |
| Production Gas Bcm/Y: | 0.18 |
| Est Gas Bft: | 355 |
| Est Gas Bcm: | 10 |
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]
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]
The first natural gas deposit in Romania was discovered in 1909, in Sărmașel, about northwest of Șincai. In 1913, the first production of methane gas was recorded at Sărmașel, of .[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]