"OMV Petrom" and "ExxonMobil Exploration and Production România" yesterday announced the discovery, in the Black Sea, of a deposit of natural gas, estimated at 42-84 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of three to six times our country's annual consumption.
After an initial discussion with specialists, we have obtained the following estimates: the Black Sea contains a natural gas deposit with Ukrainian, Azeri, Turkish, Georgians and others.
The deposit starts 7 miles West of Snake Island, in Romania's territorial water, and is 15-18 miles East from the Blue Stream underwater pipeline.
The deposit seems to extend beyond Romania's territorial waters, crossing over into those of the Ukrainians and the Turks. It would thus seem that Romania's explorers will have competition from the others on how soon they will begin the exploration, as well as when it comes to the extracted volume.
The press release of "Petrom" does not specify whether the announced finding brings any changes compared to the initial information available on the deposit.
Johann Pleininger, a member of the Board of "Petrom" said: "Together with our partner ExxonMobil, we have begun the exploration drilling at the Domino-1 well, the first deep-drilling well of the Neptun block, with encouraging signs. By February 3rd, the well indicated the presence of hydrocarbons".
Domino-1 is placed in the Neptun Block, 170 kilometers away from the shore, in waters with a depth of approximately 930 meters, according to a communiqué sent yesterday to the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The drilling operations began in December last year, and are expected to be completed this year.
* "Investments in the exploration and development stages could reach several billion dollars"
The representatives of "OMV Petrom" and "ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania" have said that it