Romania's top oil and gas group, OMV Petrom, and
U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil said on Monday they have
started drilling a third exploration well on a new
prospect in the Neptun Block, offshore Romania.
The Ocean Endeavour rig is drilling the Pelican
South-1 wildcat well about 155 kilometres offshore
in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea, the two
companies said in a joint statement.
The Pelican South-1 well will test a new
geological structure on the Neptun Block.
Earlier in October, the Ocean Endeavour rig
completed drilling the Domino-2 well in the Neptun
Blockand data from the well are being evaluated.
The Domino-2 well is located approximately 200
kilometres offshore and was being drilled in a
water depth of about 800 metres.
"Exploration for oil and gas in frontier areas is
complex and very detailed, often taking years to
complete,” John Knapp, managing director of
ExxonMobil’s affiliate in Romania, was quoted as
saying in the statement.
"The Black Sea region plays a central role in our
strategy and we allocate significant financial and
technical resources to the offshore projects. We
are encouraged by the good results so far, in
shallow and deep waters,” addedGabriel Selischi,
member of OMV Petrom's executive board responsible
for exploration and production.
ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania
Limited (EMEPRL)and OMV Petrom each hold 50%of
the deepwater sector of the Neptun Block. EMEPRL
is the operator.
The Neptun Block deep water sector covers an area
of approximately 7,500 square kilometres in water
depths ranging from 100 to1,700 meters.In 2012,
ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom announced the Domino-1
exploration well had encountered natural gas in
the deep water sector of the Neptun Block. The
Domino-1 well is located 170 kilometres offshore
in water about 1,000 metres deep.
Commenting on the news, Raiffeisen Bank said in a
note to investors: "If the test well is
successful, it would raise the attractiveness of
deep-water exploration in the Black Sea, so we
tend to see the news as positive."
Blue chip OMV Petrom shares were changing hands
0.59% up at 0.4416 lei ($0.13/0.10 euro) by 0857
CET on Monday.
Source: SeeNews
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