NewMed Energy LP and OMV Petrom SA have consummated the sale of 10 percent in the Han Asparuh exploration block on Bulgaria’s side of the Black Sea to state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH) in compliance with a government order.
The Bulgarian parliament had directed the Energy Ministry to negotiate the transfer of up to 20 percent of the license to a government-owned corporation, according to NewMed Energy. Operator OMV Petrom, an integrated energy company with investments from Austria’s state-backed OMV AG and the Romanian government, and 50-50 co-venturer NewMed Energy, an Israeli natural gas-focused explorer and producer, agreed to sell five percent each to BEH.
“All of the conditions precedent were satisfied and the transaction was closed”, NewMed Energy LP said in a brief stock filing.
In its earlier announcement of the sale agreement, NewMed Energy said the three companies agreed to work with authorities “in connection with amendments to the ordinance for determining the concession royalty payments for the production of underground resources and extension of the period of the appraisal drillings in the project to two years in lieu of one year”.
As part of the amendment process, the Bulgarian Energy Ministry released last month a draft of new regulations for determining royalty payments, “which are determined by multiplying the economic value of annual production by the royalty rate payable to the government”, NewMed Energy said.
“It is further proposed to establish in the draft regulations a minimum annual royalty payment obligation”, NewMed Energy added.
BEH has agreed to pay OMV Petrom and NewMed Energy its proportionate share of the cost of drilling preparations that the two had already undertaken, NewMed Energy said.
Han Asparuh has a two-well campaign costing around EUR 170 million ($201.26 million), according to OMV Petrom. In an online update December 15, 2025 it said drilling for the first of the two, Vinekh-1, was expected to start by the end of 2025.
The campaign – including the second well, Krum-1 – is expected to take four months, according to an online statement by OMV Petrom on July 22, 2025 announcing the award of the drillship contract to Noble Corp.
Exploration in the block started 2012. Three wells have been drilled since in Han Asparuh, which sits south of the Neptun Deep gas project on the Romanian part of the Black Sea, according to OMV Petrom. OMV Petrom is developing Neptun Deep as operator with a 50 percent stake, the other half owned by Romania’s majority state-owned SNGN Romgaz SA.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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