Offshore staff
BUCHAREST, Romania — OMV Petrom and Romgaz have sanctioned the development plan for the Domino and Pelican South gas fields in the Neptun Deep Block in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea.
The National Agency for Mineral Resources will review the proposal. According to operator OMV Petrom, the project could recover close to 100 Bcm, with first gas scheduled for 2027.
Total costs could approach EUR 4 billion ($4.3 billion).
Assuming government sanction, the development will make Romania the largest gas producer in the EU, and a net exporter, strengthening security of supply.
CEO Christina Verchere said this would be the country’s first deepwater project.
Plans call for drilling of 10 wells and installation of three subsea production systems and associated flowlines, an offshore platform, a gas pipeline to Tuzla and a natural gas measurement station.
The platform will generate its own energy, and the entire infrastructure will be operated remotely, by means of a digital twin. This will allow for process optimization and should support environmental performance by making energy consumption more efficient and reducing emissions.
At peak, production will reach about 140,000 boe/d and remain at that level for almost a decade.
The Neptun Deep Block is 160 km offshore in water depths of 100 m to 1,000 m. Previous operator Exxon Mobil started exploration in 2008 and commissioned two exploratory drilling programs, with the first deepwater well leading to the gas discovery, Domino-1.
In the second campaign, seven further wells were drilled during 2014-15, including Pelican South-1.
Last December, current titleholders OMV Petrom and Romgaz submitted a declaration of commercial discovery for the Domino and Pelican South reservoirs to the National Agency for Mineral Resources, and the co-venturers and Transgaz signed a contract earlier this year to transport gas from the Black Sea.
06.21.2023
