Romania-based Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG) said on Wednesday that it expects to start a drilling campaign at the offshore Midia Natural Gas Development (MGD) project in November.
With all the infrastructure now installed, hook-up and commissioning will take place next, ahead of expected drilling campaign in November this year, BSOG said in a press release.
The company announced that together with its co-venture partners, Petro Ventures Resources and Gas Plus Dacia, it has installed the Ana production platform within the MGD project, which is now 70% completed.
Ana is the first offshore platform built and installed in Romania in the past 30 years.
The 3,000-tonne gas production platform consists of a jacket that sits mainly underwater and a 3 decks topside above the water. The gas coming from the Ana and Doina reservoirs are collected and measured on the platform, then delivered to the onshore gas treatment plant through a 121 km subsea and 4.5 km onshore pipeline. The platform holds minimum equipment and will be completely unmanned.
"We have reached another step towards providing Romanian gas for Romania. This Black Sea project demonstrates the unique opportunity that Romania alone has in the EU to become self-sufficient in gas and thereby reduce its increasingly growing reliance on imported gas from foreign counties," BSOG CEO Mark Beacom said.
"The MGD project also allows for the cost effective and rapid development of already discovered 3rd party gas in the Romanian Black Sea within the expected time frame for use as a transition fuel and furthermore provides valuable infrastructure for the transition to green energy production.”
The MGD project consists of five offshore production wells, a subsea gas production system over the Doina well which will be connected through an 18 km pipeline with a new unmanned production platform located over Ana field.
A 126 km gas pipeline will link the Ana platform to the shore and to a new onshore gas treatment plant in Corbu commune, Constanta county, with a capacity of 1 billion cubic metres per year representing 10% of Romania’s consumption.
BSOG, owned by Carlyle International Energy Partners and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is active in the exploration and development of conventional oil and gas resources. The company’s current portfolio is made up of XV Midia Shallow Block and XIII Pelican Block concession in the Romanian Black Sea where it is the operator and holds a 65% interest.
Gas Plus is the fourth largest producer of natural gas in Italy active in exploration, production, purchase, distribution and sale to retail customers. It holds 15% interest in the XV Midia Shallow Block and XIII Pelican Block concession in the Romanian Black Sea. The remaining 20% interest is owned by Petro Ventures, a private investment group.
(SeeNews, September 22, 2021)
