The Transocean Barents semi-submersible drilling rig, contracted by Austria’s OMV, has arrived in Constanta, Romania. From January 2025, the rig will begin drilling operations in the Deepwater Neptune (Neptun Deep) block, which has an estimated gas reserve of 100 billion cubic meters.
“The arrival of the rig marks an important step on the way to developing the first deepwater offshore gas project in Romania together with our partner Romgaz. Neptun Deep is a strategic project for Romania and the EU,” said Cristina Vercere, CEO of OMV’s Romanian company OMV Petrom.
The Deepwater Neptune block is owned by OMV and Romania's state-owned Romgaz. A deepwater field was discovered there in 2011 and was expected to be operational by the late 2020s. However, the Romanian parliament has tightened tax laws on oil and gas companies and OMV has indefinitely postponed approval of the investment decision.
From 2022-2023, the tax policy will change. OMV plans to invest 4 billion euros together with Romgaz in this field and expects to receive the first gas in 2027. Annual production at the new field is estimated at 3 billion m3. The exploitation will be the first time a large field has been put into operation in the past few decades in Europe.
OMV was one of Gazprom's largest customers in Europe. Annual deliveries amounted to 5.7 billion cubic meters per year under the contract with Austria. However, Gazprom stopped gas deliveries in 2022 and OMV filed a case in Stockholm arbitration. In November this year, the arbitration court awarded OMW 230 million euros in compensation. OMV did not pay Gazprom for gas delivered in October to offset the arbitration award. As a result, Gazprom stopped deliveries on November 16.
