Natural gas production from the massive discovery in the Black Sea offshore Romania is expected to begin in 2027, Austria’s energy giant OMV said on Wednesday, adding that the project, Neptun Deep, is advancing as scheduled.
Drilling for the first of ten wells began in March this year and is anticipated to take two to three months, OMV said in its first-quarter results release.
Initial gas production at Neptun Deep is planned for 2027.
The development concept of Neptun Deep includes ten production wells – four in the Pelican South field and six in the Domino field.
Upon reaching peak production, Neptun Deep is expected to yield around 8 billion cubic meters of gas annually, according to OMV.
Neptun Deep is the largest natural gas project in the Romanian Black Sea and the first deepwater offshore project in Romania, OMV’s Romanian business, OMV Petrom, says.
The estimated natural gas production is equivalent to around 30 times the current annual demand of about 4.3 million households.
“By developing this project, Romania can secure its natural gas needs from domestic sources and become an important player in the European market,” Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, said in March when the first production well was spud.
When Neptun Deep comes on stream, it is expected to make Romania the biggest natural gas producer in the European Union (EU), as well as a net gas exporter for the very first time.
Norway, not an EU member but a close ally to the bloc, is the single biggest gas supplier to Europe, having replaced Russia in 2022.
Norway’s natural gas exports hit a record level in 2024 and are expected to remain close to this all-time high in the next few years, gas export system operator Gassco said at the end of 2024. Last year marked a record year for Norwegian exports to Europe, Gassco said, adding that Norway’s gas accounted for 30% of Europe’s natural gas imports and about 9% of all European energy consumption.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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