NewMed Energy LP and OMV Petrom SA have agreed to drill another prospect in the Han Asparuh block on Bulgaria’s side of the Black Sea, after approving their first as new partners in March.
They expect to start drilling the Krum-1 well after the completion of Vinekh-1. Krum-1 sits about 130 kilometers (80.78 miles) east of the coast while Vinekh-1 is around 30 kilometers farther.
Krum-1 has a total water depth of 3,540 meters (11,614.17 feet) and a water depth of 1,760 meters. Drilling aims to prove natural gas in two Pliocene-Miocene layers.
NewMed Energy, a gas and condensate exploration and production company owned by Israel’s Delek Group, entered the block when it acquired a 50 percent stake earlier this year.
The leasehold, also called Block 1-21, spans about 13,712 square kilometers (5,294.23 square miles) in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, according to OMV Petrom.
“This collaboration allows both parties to share the risks and costs associated with the project, thereby facilitating the advancement of exploration efforts”, OMV Petrom, an integrated energy company with investments from Austria’s state-backed OMV AG and the Romanian government, said November 28, 2024, announcing the farm-down deal.
Before NewMed Energy’s, three exploration wells had already been drilled, with geological and geophysical surveys also conducted including a 3D campaign completed May 2020, according to OMV Petrom.
The investment from NewMed Energy bears “a significant part of the costs of the exploration and appraisal operations”, OMV Petrom said.
“Given its proximity to Romania and geological similarities, Bulgaria is a natural extension of our offshore activities”, said Cristian Hubati, OMV Petrom board member responsible for exploration and production.
“Advancing exploration activities in Bulgaria has the potential to support the security of energy supply in Bulgaria and the region”.
NewMed Energy said, “The term of the concession for extraction is 35 years with an option for extension by 15 additional years under certain conditions”.
The government granted the lease August 2012 to a consortium of France’s Total as operator, Spain’s Repsol and OMV. Repsol exited the joint venture 2019, followed by Total, now TotalEnergies, in 2022.
OMV Petrom became a partner in the license, which has been extended several times, in 2020 when it acquired OMV Offshore Bulgaria from OMV Exploration & Production GmbH.
Last year Bulgaria’s Energy Ministry extended the license for 23 months to October 2026 due to force majeure. “The force majeure covering the period from 24 February 2022 to 24 January 2024 is motivated on the grounds of the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of ‘Total Energies EP Bulgaria’ B.V. from the project”, it said in an online statement June 27, 2024.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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