OMV Petrom, ROMGAZ launch gas drilling at Romania’s Neptun Deep

Romania

BUCHAREST, March 26, 2025 – OMV Petrom and ROMGAZ have begun drilling the first gas production well for the Neptun Deep project, OMV said on Tuesday.

Located in the Pelican South field, the well will contribute approximately 8 bcm annually to Romania’s gas production once plateau production is reached, OMV said.

First gas is estimated for 2027.

The Neptun Deep project is Romania’s most significant natural gas development, located approximately 160 kilometers offshore in the Black Sea.

The development concept includes 10 production wells: four in the Pelican South field and six in the Domino field.

“The start of drilling is an important milestone for the progress of Neptun Deep – a project of strategic importance for Romania. By developing this project, Romania can secure its natural gas needs from domestic sources and become an important player in the European market,” OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere said.

“The well spud in Neptun Deep is the first offshore key-operation in the Black Sea and represents the fulfilment of the development-exploitation work programmes by both titleholders, being within the project schedule,” ROMGAZ deputy CEO Aristotel Jude said.

OMV Petrom and ROMGAZ are jointly investing up to 4 billion euros in total in the development of the Neptun Deep project.

The well foundations for Pelican were successfully installed using an advanced technology for offshore drilling, the CAN-ductor from Neodrill. This technology minimises the overall environmental footprint of the drilling process.

The drilling of the first well is estimated to take approximately two to three months.

The drilling will be carried out using the Transocean Barents mobile drilling unit, which has been contracted especially for the project.

Halliburton Energy Services Romania and Newpark Drilling Fluids Eastern Europe will provide the integrated drilling services. Halliburton’s international and local experience in Romania will be deployed on a wide range of services such as cementing, directional drilling and well completions.

The infrastructure required for the development of the two fields includes three subsea production systems, one for Pelican South and two for Domino.

The development also includes the associated gathering pipeline network, a shallow-water offshore natural gas platform, the main natural gas pipeline to the shore at Tuzla and a natural gas metering station.

The offshore platform generates its own electricity, operating at the highest standards of safety and environmental protection.

The wells and fields will be operated remotely through a digital twin. A key aspect of the development concept is that the natural energy of the reservoir is used to transport the natural gas to shore, eliminating the need for compression.

This, along with other project features, ensures that emissions from the Neptun Deep project are kept to a minimum, significantly below industry benchmarks.

In addition to the drilling operations, work continues on various components of the Neptun Deep project.

The production platform is under construction, systems for the subsea infrastructure are being manufactured, the support field vessel is being built, and the natural gas metering station is also under construction.

Photo of the Transocean Barents courtesy of Transocean