This chapter assesses the case of Romania, a country which has a sizeable domestic conventional gas production. It argues that frequent changes in the political leadership resulted in shifting policy agendas toward shale, preventing a consistent institutional strategy within the state apparatus. This adds to a generally weak public administration, low institutional capacity, and a non-participatory and in-transparent administrative process. Coupled with an inadequate legal framework for unconventional gas, this resulted in distrust among the population. Second, the governmental policy narrative of ‘economic opportunity’ did not resonate with key constituents, eventually giving way to more dominant anti-neoliberal and environmentally conservative narratives, flavored with nationalistic undercurrents. Facing growing public opposition, the government eventually pivoted to offshore conventional gas development.