In the 1920s, large deposits of natural gas were discovered near the Nou Săsesc village of Laslea commune, a discovery that led to the drilling of wells and the exploitation of those deposits. In the early 1930s, the Methane Gas National Society (SONAMETAN) launched a campaign for the promotion of natural gas and the expansion of its distribution network.[2]: 67 These efforts helped the Noul Săsesc gas field get connected to Sibiu in 1936 and Ocna Mureș in 1937.[2]: 69 In 1938, planning began for a pipeline that would connect Brașov to Noul Săsesc's distribution network, culminating in the delivery of 90,000 kg (200,000 lb) of 30 cm (12 in) steel pipes from Germany via 1,000 rail cars the following year.[2]: 69 [3] Upon completion in 1942, the pipeline added not only Brașov to the network, but the industrial centers of Făgăraș and Ucea as well.[2]: 69 Further expansion of the Noul Săsesc pipeline network continued through the end of World War II, with methane gas able to be delivered to the industrial centers of Bod, Zărnești, and—through an extension of the pipeline to Câmpina—the distribution network of Bucharest, by 1945.[2]: 70
Expansions to the pipeline network continued after the war, and by 1970 was able to deliver natural gas directly to Bucharest, along with the cities of Victoria, Făgăraș, and Brașov.[4]: 217–18
In 2022, Romgaz allocated 11.2 million leis for preparatory work, drilling, and production tests at the Noul Săsesc gas field,[5] The following year it announced plans to maintain and upgrade several wells at Noul Săsesc.[6]
