OMV Petrom, which, together with Romgaz, is the concessionaire of the Neptun Deep perimeter in the Black Sea, which will bring the first gas from the 100 billion cubic meter deposit to Romania, has submitted the environmental documentation for a new deep-sea drilling in Neptun Deep, which will see if there are additional gas resources to those already found. 

Anaconda-1 is actually a new phase of development of the Neptun Deep gas perimeter, where, after the drilling in Pelican Sud and Domino, gas reserves of 100 billion cubic meters were discovered, and now the ten exploitation wells are being installed on the seabed that would bring the first gas to shore in 2027.

The drilling of this well is an obligation under the concession contract, and failure to deliver it would have resulted in the two companies losing the concession for part of Neptun Deep, Economica.net reported.

The Anaconda-1 prospect involves drilling an exploration well at a depth of almost 3,700 meters, which, according to information published in the spring by Profit.ro, would cost about USD 62 million.

The water depth in the area targeted by this drilling is about 1,500 meters. The drilling of the well will show whether there is natural gas in the area or not.

According to the concession contract for the Neptun Deep perimeter, the concession companies, Petrom and Romgaz (Petrom is the operator), are obliged to drill another deep well. Two potential prospects have been identified, called Nard (Nard-1) and Anaconda (Anaconda-1) – Nard involves drilling an exploration well at a depth of about 3,200 meters, where the water is 970 meters, and costs about the same.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Calin)