• Two new development wells are being drilled in the shallow waters of the Istria block
• OMV Petrom invested over EUR 500 million between 2014 and 2019 in the offshore production in the shallow waters of the Black Sea

OMV Petrom, the largest energy company in Southeastern Europe, initiated a new offshore drilling campaign in the shallow waters of the Istria block in the Black Sea. The first drilling operations started at the end of December 2020 and the drilling of the second well will start at the beginning of this year. The investment for this campaign is approximately EUR 32 million.

„OMV Petrom has had an active presence in the Black Sea for over four decades and, during this period, OMV Petrom demonstrated its important role for the economic development of Romania. Using modern technical solutions, we seek to unlock additional resources that can compensate for the decline of the domestic production from mature fields. The Black Sea has a strategic importance for Romania’s gas production, which currently covers almost 10% of the country’s annual gas consumption”, said Chris Veit, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Upstream.

The two development wells are being drilled at depths of over 2,500 meters below the seabed, in waters with a depth of around 60 meters.

This drilling campaign continues the series of investment projects for offshore production in the shallow waters of the Black Sea: over EUR 500 million were invested between 2014 and 2019, including the drilling of 16 exploration and production wells and sidetracks as well as modernization of the production facilities and gas compression system.

OMV Petrom in the Black Sea
Exploration in the Romanian continental shelf of the Black Sea started in 1969. The first hydrocarbon discovery was in 1980, and the first production in the Black Sea started in 1987. Currently, OMV Petrom has exploration, development and production operations in the shallow waters (Istria block) and exploration operations in partnership with ExxonMobil in deepwater areas (Neptun Deep). Oil and gas production in shallow waters (Istria block) amounts to approximately 25,000 boe/day. In 2019, it accounted for around 17% of the Group’s domestic production.