GSP to drill two wells in the Romanian Black Sea for Carlyle

The firm Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG), together with its concession partners, has awarded a contract for the drilling of two offshore exploration wells, located in the XV Midia perimeter of the Romanian Black Sea, to GSP Offshore, a local provider of drilling services. Black Sea Oil & Gas is fully owned by Carlyle Group, the biggest private equity firm in the world, while GSP Offshore is part of the GSP Holding owned by Romanian investor Gabriel Comanescu. The drilling will start in the fourth quarter of this year. In mid-February, BSOG CEO Mark Beacom announced that the company had found in the Romanian Black Sea between 10 and 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and production could begin in 2019. He estimated that the project could produce about 10% of Romania’s consumption in the next five years. The total investment of the consortium in this concession currently amounts to USD 200 million. editor@romania-insider.com