ExxonMobil, Petrom to Resume Explorations Offshore Romania

ExxonMobil and Romania’s Petrom will resume exploration activities in their offshore Black Sea block in the coming months, reads a note released on Tuesday.

“The two companies have procured the Ocean Endeavor drilling rig to resume exploration drilling on the Neptun Deep Block offshore Romania at the end of 2013 or early 2014,” reads the note.

The Ocean Endeavor drilling rig, owned by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., is a semi-submersible designed to drill in water depths up to 2,400 meters and a total drilling depth up to 10,600 meters.

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania (EMEPRL) and OMV Petrom confirmed on Tuesday that they have successfully completed a 3D seismic survey on the Neptun Deep Bloc, the largest 3D survey ever recorded in the Black Sea.

“Data collected during the seismic campaign and the exploration drilling program will be used to assess the size and commerciality of the Domino discovery, announced in 2012, and the potential of other prospects in the Neptun Deep Block,” according to Petrom.

Petrom, majority-owned by Austria’s OMV, has proved oil and gas reserves of 854 mn boe. 

In February 2012, OMV Petrom and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited (EMEPRL) announced that the first exploration well drilled at depth in the Black Sea, the Domino-1 exploration well, encountered 70.7 meters of net gas pay resulting in a preliminary estimate for the accumulation ranging from 1.5 to 3 tcf (42 to 84 bcm).  Supplementary evaluation of the results from Domino-1 provided a preliminary estimation of the potential gas production of approximately 630 million cubic feet per day, (6.5 bcm annually).