OMV Petrom and Romgaz will start a EUR 4 billion investment in Neptune Deep

OMV Petrom and Romgaz announced the approval of a EUR 4 billion investment in the offshore Neptune Deep perimeter, a development that will allow the extraction of about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. “It is a step towards our energetic independence,” said Marcel Ciolacu, the Prime Minister of Romania, at the conference that announced the development.

The extraction of natural gas is expected to start in 2027 and it will make Romania the biggest producer of natural gas of Europe, after the Netherlands decision of closing their biggest natural gas extraction site. OMV Petrom and Romgaz will reach a production of about 140,000 boe/d) for approximately 10 years.

“To illustrate the size of the project: the production is equivalent to the current annual natural gas demand of 4.3 million households multiplied by 30 times. It is also a major step for our 2030 strategy through which we support the energy transition in Romania and in the region”, says Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom. Razvan Popescu, general director of Romgaz, said that starting in 2027 we will have a new source of natural gas, which has the potential to significantly increase the country’s natural gas production.

According to the quoted statement, the infrastructure required for the development of the Domino and Pelican Sud offshore natural gas fields includes 10 wells, 3 subsea production systems and the associated gathering pipeline network, an offshore platform, the main gas pipeline to Tuzla and a gas measurement station.

The platform generates its own electricity. The entire infrastructure will be operated remotely, by means of a digital replica (digital twin). It allows the optimization of processes and will contribute to the improvement of environmental performance, by making energy consumption more efficient and reducing emissions.

Marcel Ciolacu: Energetic independence

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared that by starting the Neptun Deep project, for exploitation of natural gas from the Black Sea, carried out by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, Romania is taking the decisive step for its energy independence.

“Today we are witnessing the moment when Romania takes the decisive step for its energy independence. Black Sea gas is the very fuel that will lead us to achieve this strategic objective. Millions of families and hundreds of thousands of Romanian companies have been waiting for this for so long. It is the moment to put this resource at the base of our economic development in schools, hospitals, farms and factories, for the concrete benefit of Romanians”, said Marcel Ciolacu.

He pointed out that the project represents the realization of a good collaboration between state institutions and the private environment.

“Today we mark, in fact, an achievement of teamwork between the state and the private sector. Without this collaboration, today, the Neptun Deep project, for gas extraction from the Black Sea, would not have existed. This is the working model that Romania needs”, declared Marcel Ciolacu.

He emphasized that the efforts made by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, the partner companies in this project, are impressive.

“I am convinced that after the announcement of the investment decision, the operations will be coordinated as well to be able to proceed at the highest speed, so that in 2027 we will have the first gas molecules from the Black Sea”, stated Ciolacu.

The discovery of 2012

The Neptun Deep perimeter in the Black Sea has an area of 7,500 km2 and is located approximately 160 km from the shore, in waters between 100 and 1,000 meters deep. Exploration of the perimeter was accelerated in 2008 and included two 3D acquisition campaigns and two exploration drilling campaigns. The first gas discovery took place in 2012.

On August 1, 2022, Romgaz became the sole shareholder of Romgaz Black Sea Limited, as a result of the completion of the acquisition transaction and the transfer of all shares issued by (representing 100% of the share capital of) ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, which owns 50% of the rights acquired and of the obligations assumed by the Petroleum Agreement for the deep water area of the XIX Neptun offshore perimeter in the Black Sea.

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