OMV Petrom, ExxonMobil Start Drilling New Well Offshore Romania

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