The drilling platform “Transocean Barents“ is ready to sail from the Romanian port of Constanta to start drilling in one of Europe's largest gas fields – “Neptune Deep“, which will double Romania's gas production and has the potential to turn the country into a net gas exporter, Romanian media and Reuters reported.
The platform will head about 160 km into the sea and within a few weeks will start drilling in the 10 gas wells that make up the “Neptune Deep“ field. The investment is worth four billion euros and is divided equally between OMV Petrom, the Romanian unit of Austrian company OMV, and Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz. The field is estimated to contain 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, with first deliveries expected in 2027.
This is Romania's largest energy project since the commissioning of the second reactor of the Cerna Voda nuclear power plant almost two decades ago (2007), Reuters notes.
The Transocean Barents platform, which will carry out the drilling, arrived in Constanta in November last year, passing through the Bosphorus. There are nearly 160 people from 37 nationalities on board, including 20 Romanians. The drilling platform is practically a small city at sea - the ship's services are provided by 20 different companies, and it has a cinema, a gym, a music room, a café and offices located on four levels, the media noted.
“This is a ship that can do more than just sail“, said Cristian Hubati, a member of the board of directors of “OMV Petrom“.
According to him, the platform will be in position in the gas field within a few days. “Then comes the stabilization, anchoring and preparation for drilling. These are technological steps“, Hubati said, quoted by Romanian media.
The platform sails from the Spanish city of Cartagena in October 2024. and to pass under the Bosphorus bridges on its way to the Black Sea, it had to reduce its height for the first time since it was put into operation in 2009, Reuters notes. The platform has so far operated in Canada, Norway, Cyprus and Lebanon.
“We will extract about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, an average of eight billion cubic meters per year, which will guarantee Romania's energy consumption“, said Cristian Hubati. According to him, “Neptune Deep“ will put the country on the map of major energy producers in Europe.
The Romanian authorities define the project as strategic and expect it to create jobs and bring over 20 billion euros to the state budget.
However, the project has been criticized by the growing far right, which defines the export of natural gas as a “betrayal of national interests“.
“OMV Petrom“ informed in early January that it had signed a 5-year contract for the export of gas from the Black Sea to Germany. Hungary and other countries are showing interest in supplies.
The Romanian news site “Hotnews“ indicates that Romania is already the largest producer of natural gas among EU member states as a result of the increase in the production of “Romgaz“. With the current production of about 8-10 billion cubic meters of gas, Romania fully covers its consumption without depending on imports. From 2027, Romania's annual production is expected to double to 18-20 billion cubic meters of gas, writes „Hotnews“.
Environmentalists, on the other hand, are concerned about the project's impact on the environment. The international human rights organization „Greenpeace“ tried to block the environmental approval of the project in court, but lost the case at the end of January.
According to „Greenpeace“, the „Neptune Deep“ project raises serious concerns regarding environmental protection, climate change and compliance with legislation. Environmental activists do not believe that the „project's carbon footprint is zero” and point out that in fact it will contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
About „Neptune Deep“ There is also some fiscal uncertainty due to the measures that the government in Bucharest is taking to reduce the excessive budget deficit, Reuters points out. At the end of 2024, the deficit amounted to 8.6 percent, Finance Minister Tancoş Barna admitted at the beginning of the year.
Citing unfavorable conditions and tax instability, the American company "ExxonMobil", which owned 50 percent of the license for the "Neptune Deep" block, sold its stake to "Romgaz" and withdrew from the project in 2022. The deal was for one billion and 60 million dollars.
The “Neptune Deep“ project includes 10 wells, three subsea production systems, an offshore platform, a main gas pipeline to Tuzla (in Constanta County) and a gas metering station.
Representatives of “OMV Petrom“ said that work is currently underway in Indonesia on the production platform.
“The first deck of the platform is almost complete. We have also seen the first equipment that will be sent to Indonesia to be installed on the platform,“ said Christian Hubati. According to him, work is also progressing on the gas purification station in Tuzla and on the ship that will service and maintain the production platform.
“Neptune Deep“ covers an area of 7,500 sq. km and is located about 160 kilometers from the coast in waters with a depth of between 100 and 1000 meters.
The Romanian division of „OMV“ – „OMV Petrom“, plans to accelerate exploration activities in the offshore section "Khan Asparuh" in Bulgaria. In November last year, „OMV Petrom“ entered into a strategic partnership with "NewMed Energy Balkan" - a subsidiary of the Israeli company NewMed Energy, to accelerate exploration.
"Given the proximity to Romania and the geological similarities (of the Bulgarian block in the Black Sea with the one in the Romanian waters "Neptune Deep" - ed. note) Bulgaria is a natural extension of our offshore activities. "The progress in offshore exploration activities in Bulgaria has the potential to support the security of energy supplies both in Bulgaria and in the region," Christian Hubati said in November.
"Khan Asparuh" is located south of the "Neptune Deep" perimeter and has an area of about 13,000 sq. km.
Earlier this month, Bulgarian Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov discussed the prospects for the "Khan Asparuh" block with representatives of "OMV Petrom". Minister Stankov emphasized that the development of a local field would guarantee the energy security of the country and the region, and would also contribute to increasing the competitiveness of Bulgarian industrial consumers.