ROMANIA'S GAS INVESTMENT $4.4 BLN
OFFSHORE ENERGY - June 21, 2023 - South-Eastern Europe’s integrated energy company OMV Petrom and Romgaz, Romania’s producer and main supplier of natural gas, have made a final investment decision for a giant deepwater natural gas project in the Black Sea, which is considered to be not only Romania’s first deepwater project but also “the largest natural gas project” in the Romanian area of the Black Sea.
OMV Petrom disclosed on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, that it had approved, together with Romgaz, the development plan for the Domino and Pelican South commercial natural gas fields in the Neptun Deep block offshore Romania. This will be submitted to the National Agency for Mineral Resources for endorsement. The first gas is expected in 2027 and the production at the plateau will be approximately 8 bcm annually (about 140,000 boe/d) for almost 10 years.
While OMV Petrom is the operator with a 50 per cent interest in the project, Romgaz is the firm’s partner in this project and holds the remaining 50 per cent. The two players intend to invest up to 4 billion euros or almost $4.4 billion for the development phase of the project to be spent mostly during 2024-2026, which will enable about 100 bcm of natural gas to be brought on stream, turning Romania into – what OMV Petrom deems to be – the largest gas producer in the EU and a net natural gas exporter.
Furthermore, the infrastructure required for the development of the Domino and Pelican South offshore natural gas fields includes ten wells, three subsea production systems, associated flow lines, an offshore platform, the main natural gas pipeline to Tuzla, and a natural gas measurement station.
According to OMV Petrom, the platform generates its own energy, operating at the highest standards of safety and environmental protection. The entire infrastructure will be operated remotely, through a digital twin, allowing for process optimisation and contributing to the improvement of environmental performance, by making energy consumption more efficient and reducing emissions.
Located at about 160 km from the shore, in waters between 100 and 1,000 metres, the Neptun Deep block in the Black Sea covers an area of 7,500 square km. Since 2008, the exploration activities in the Neptun Deep block have included two 3D seismic acquisition campaigns and two exploration drilling programmes.
The first natural gas discovery at the block was made in 2012 and the total exploration and appraisal expenses to date amount to more than 1.5 billion euros or close to $1.64 billion. The carbon footprint of this project is expected to be better than the industry benchmark, as at plateau production, a carbon footprint of around 2.2 kg CO2/boe is anticipated which is below the industry average of 16.7 kg CO2/boe as per IOGP.
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