The company, headquartered in Houston, Texas, also has an operations office in Ploiesti, southern Romania.
Stratum has invested over $70 million in Romania so far and plans to invest approximately $150 million more in 2015, the company said in a statement Thursday, adding the plan is conditioned by obtaining the requisite regulatory approvals from Romanian authorities.
“Stratum is committed to investing in Moinesti and in Romania. The Poduri gas will help the country move closer to its goal of energy independence and thereby improve stability in the region. We are excited to begin full production from Poduri and we look forward to being an active contributor to Romania’s energy security,” company CEO Qasim Sharif said in the statement.
Two wells (Poduri 1 and Poduri 2) are currently producing 450,000 cubic meters of gas a day and 100 cubic meters of a condensate and light crude mixture. A state-of-the-art drilling rig built in 2014 is currently drilling the Poduri 3 well and is contracted to drill up to nine additional wells. The company has also constructed a gas export pipeline, with a capacity of 4 million cubic meters per day, to connect the Poduri field with the Transgaz national gas pipeline grid system, the company said in its press release.
Stratum is in the initial stages of a full field development plan and expects to submit its engineering study to Romania’s National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM) for approval this year.
“Subject to the approval of ANMR, production is expected to increase to one million cubic meters per day in the first quarter of 2015 when two more wells will be drilled, completed, and connected for production,” Sharif added.