Petrom and ExxonMobil start drilling Romania’s first deepwater well in the Black Sea

Oil and gas companies Petrom and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited (EEPRL), an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation have recently started drilling on Romania’s Domino-1 in the Black Sea. This is the first deepwater exploration well in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea and is located in the Neptun Block, 170 kilometers offshore in water about 1,000 meters deep. Drilling operations are expected to take up to 90 days. The exploration drilling made in the Neptun Block may or may not result in a discovery. However, if any commercial discovery occurs, the development of the Neptun Block would yield significant positive industrial, social and economic benefits for Romania, reads a statement of the company. ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited and Petrom signed an agreement in November 2008 for ExxonMobil to acquire a 50 percent interest in the deep water portion of the Neptun Block. The Neptun Block covers an area of approximately 9,900 square km in water depths ranging from 50 m to 1,700 m. International oil and gas company ExxonMobil’s affiliates or predecessor companies have been operating in Romania since 1903, according to the company. OMV Petrom’s main shareholder is Austrian OMV, while the Romanian state owns a 20.64 percent stake in the company. Fondul Proprietatea owns a 20.11 percent stake, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development some 2.03 percent, while 6.21 percent is free floating on the BSE. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Sxc.hu)