After visiting marine drilling ship Deepwater Champion, owned by ExxonMobil, Basescu said there have been “some one hundred billion cubic meters” of gas found on the Neptun block, and the outlook is similar for several other areas to be explored in the near future.
“Romania has an annual consumption of some 14 billion cubic meters of gas, between 14.2 and 14.8 (billion) estimated for 2012. In 2011, Romania consumed 14.2 billion cubic meters of gas, 11.4 billion from local production and three billion from imports. (…) If the other four-five areas on the Neptun block show similar quantities, Romania could become a source of gas not only for itself, but also for other countries in Europe,” Basescu said.
The president added drilling will start once prospection is concluded, namely between 2015 and 2017.
Oil companies OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania recently reported a significant gas discovery at their joint Domino-1 deepwater well in the Black Sea.
The exploration well encountered 70.7 meters of net gas pay, resulting in a preliminary estimate for the accumulation ranging from 1.5 to 3 trillion cubic feet, or 42 to 84 billion cubic meters. The amount would exceed by three to six times the annual gas consumption in Romania.
The joint Domino-1 well is the first deepwater exploration well in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea. The well is located in the Neptun block some 170 kilometers offshore Romania, in water about 1,000 kilometers deep. Drilling started at the end of 2011.
Development and production costs in the perimeter are estimated between $3 billion and $10 billion, if drilling proves successful, according to ExxonMobil officials.
OMV Petrom is 51%-owned by Austria’s OMV (OMV.VI). The oil company reported a net profit of 3.76 billion lei ($1.14 billion) in 2011, up 72% on the year.