“We are excited to resume our drilling program in the Romanian Black Sea. Success at Ioana could greatly enhance the potential for a gas hub in the Midia block that already includes the Ana and Doina fields,” said Mark Beacom, Sterling’s Vice President and General Manager for Romania.
In June, the Canadian company said its Romanian subsidiary Midia Resources has contracted a cantilever-type jack-up drilling rig from local oil and gas service company Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) for the drilling of two back-to-back wells in the Midia and Pelican offshore blocks.
Drilling of the second well, dubbed Eugenia, is scheduled to start as soon as Ioana-1 is completed. The Ioana-1 well, which is located in a water depth of 91 metres, is expected to take up to 30 days to complete.
Sterling is the operator of the Midia and Pelican blocks in offshore Romania and holds a 65% working interest. In late 2011, the company announced it could invest between $500 million and $1 billion in the two blocks in the short run.