OMV has received the green light for the highly anticipated natural gas production project “Neptun Deep” in the Black Sea. The group announced that the total cost of developing the huge gas field off the coast of Romania will be around €4 billion. The costs, which will mainly be incurred between 2024 and 2016, will be shared with the Romanian partner company Romgaz.
OMV’s Romanian subsidiary, Petrom, estimates the potential of the gas field at around 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The first gas production from this deepwater project is expected in 2027.
“With Neptun Deep, Romania becomes the largest natural gas producer in the EU and becomes a reliable and safe source of energy for the region. At the same time, it will strengthen our group’s position in the Black Sea region and in Southeastern Europe,” said OMV CEO Alfred Stern. However, the project is yet to be approved by the Romanian natural resources authorities.
The infrastructure required to develop the two Domino and Pelican South natural gas fields includes ten wells, three subsea production systems, associated pipelines, an offshore platform, the main natural gas pipeline to the city of Tuzla east of Bucharest and a natural gas metering station.
Cumbersome planning
In 2012, Vienna-based OMV first announced that it had discovered a gas field in the Black Sea. The extraction site is one of the most important in the European Union (EU). However, the development of the field, which would lead to greater independence from Russia’s gas supply, has been delayed for a long time for political reasons. In addition, the original partner, the American oil giant ExxonMobil, jumped off. Romgaz took over his stake in the project for more than $1 billion.
Finally, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the associated energy crisis have revived the discussion on the development of the field.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
