Neptune Deep18 Feb 2020 13:14
US giant Exxon Mobil is reportedly looking to sell its participation in the Neptun Deep project, which involves exploring and exploiting Black Sea gas, valuing this asset at USD 250 million, according to sources cited by Reuters.
The company currently holds a 50 percent stake in the Neptun Deep project, while the remaining 50 percent is owned by OMV Petrom. So far, Exxon has invested over USD 750 million in the project.
During 2009-2010, ExxonMobil’s Romanian subsidiary, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited (EMEPRL) acquired more than 3,000 square kilometers of 3D seismic data over Neptun Deep Block using state of the art technology. In March 2012, Domino-1, the first deepwater well in Romania, located 170 kilometers offshore in water about 1,000 meters deep, confirmed the presence of natural gas.
Further, in 2013, EMEPRL completed a seven-month 3D seismic study covering approximately 6,000 square kilometers in Neptun Deep Block — the largest seismic program ever undertaken in Romania. In January 2016, we successfully completed the most ambitious exploration drilling campaign in the Romanian deep water sector of the Black Sea which included in total seven wells drilled with exemplary safety and environmental performance and fulfilling all minimum work program obligations.
In February it was re ported that the Domino-1 well had encountered 72m of net gas pay, suggesting as a preliminary estimate that the field could hold between 1.5 and 3 Tcf of gas. This discovery is potentially the biggest gas find ever for OMV, although Petrom is already the largest oil and gas producer in South East Europe.