Deepwater drilling in Black Sea

The oil group Petrom and Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited (EEPRL), a branch of Exxon Mobil Company, started the deepwater exploration drilling at Domino-1 oil well, the first deep water exploratory well in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea, Petrom told a release sent to Agerpres on Monday.

Domino-1 well is located in Neptun block, 170 km away from the shore, in waters 1,000 m deep and will be drilled with state-of-the-art technology. The drilling will be made by the latest technology drillship Deepwater Champion which recently came to Romanian waters after concluding the offshore drilling programme in Turkey. The drilling operations are to last about 90 days.

"We are delighted by the cooperation with Petrom in this project, a cooperation based on the experience of Exxon Mobil, one of the world leading companies in deep water exploration and the vast experience of Petrom company in Romania. We appreciate the efforts made by the Romanian authorities to support the progress of the works of exploration in the Black Sea," said EEPRL managing director Ian Fischer.

The exploration drilling, especially in such unexplored areas of the Black Sea, can lead to a discovery or not. If a commercial discovery is confirmed, the later development of the Neptun perimeter will have a significant positive industrial, social and economic impact on Romania, according to Petrom representatives.

"Together with our partner Exxon Mobil, we develop a unique project for Romania. The deepwater exploration poses high investment risks and needs hundreds of millions of dollars invested, but a possible success might fundamentally change the prospects of the Romanian energy sector," said Johann Pleininger, member of Petrom board, responsible with Exploration and Production.

The Neptun perimeter stretches over 9,900 square perimeters over waters with a depth between 50 and 1,700 metres. In November 2009, Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited and Petrom signed an agreement by which Exxon Mobil purchased 50 percent of the deep water area of the Neptun perimeter. Ever since, the two companies worked closely to purchase 3D seismic data and to evaluate the fossil fuels potential in the Neptun perimeter.

Petrom and Exxon Mobil purchased data for more than 3,000 square metres between 2009 and 2010, with the help of the latest 3D seismic technology, during the largest seismic programme ever held in Romania.

Deepwater Champion was built in South Korea and was specially designed for an easy access to and from the Black Sea.

Exxon Mobil, the major oil and gas company publicly listed in the world, employs new and innovative technologies to meet the growing energy demand in the world. Exxon Mobil has a vast experience in exploring deep waters. More than 250 wells and rigs were drilled in waters deeper than 750 metres, out of 7,800 wells and rigs operated by Exxon Mobil over the past decade.

Petrom group is the major oil producer in the South-East Romania with activities of production, exploration, refining and marketing, natural gas and power. The group consolidated his position on the oil market in South-East Europe following a major process of updating and improving efficiency, requiring investments in amount of 6.6 billion euros over the past six years.

The group operates oil drilling in Romania and Kazakhstan for proven reserves of oil and gas estimated at about 832 million BOE (barrel of oil equivalent) (805 only in Romania) and has an annual nominal refining capacity of 4.5 million tonnes.

In the sector of oil-based products distribution, Petrom group is present on the markets in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia through a network of about 800 stations.

The activity of trading oil-based products in Romania is made by OMV Petrom Marketing which is totally owned by Petrom. OMV, one of the major public industrial companies in Austria, holds 51.01 percent of the Petrom shares. OMV is active in two major states in the field of exploration and production, Romania and Austria, and has a balanced international portfolio.

The Ministry of Economy has 20.64 percent of Petrom shares, Proprietatea Fund has 20.11 percent, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has 2.03 percent and 6.21 percent are the free float on Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Source: Romanian National News Agency AGERPRES