Romania invests in the Neptune Deep gas extraction project in the Black Sea

OMV Petrom and Romgas announced an ambitious gas extraction plan from the Neptune Deep gas project in the Black Sea on Wednesday. The Romanian Romgas decision brings new hope for energy development in Europe.

Neptune Deep Gas Project, which will be implemented in cooperation with OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy company in South-East Europe, aims to achieve significant natural gas extraction.

The gas project is the largest undertaking of its kind in the Romanian energy sector. The concession covers an impressive area of approximately 7.5 thousand km2, located 16 km from the shore, in waters 100-1000 meters deep. OMV Petrom, part of the Austrian company OMV, will lead this unique project, which has great operational potential.

The project assumes equal participation of both companies – OMV Petrom and Romgas. OMV Petrom will act as an operator. The total investment in the development phase of the project is estimated at EUR 4 billion. Production is expected to be around 100 billion m3 of natural gas. The planned start of the extraction of raw material is 2027 and annual production is expected to reach 8 billion m3.

The project will require adequate infrastructure. There are 10 wells planned, 3 offshore mining systems, as well as an extended pipeline network, a sea platform, a main pipeline to Tuzla and a gas metering station. An extremely innovative solution will be remote management of the whole system using the so-called digital twin.

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy company in South-East Europe, operating in both Romania and neighbouring countries. The shares in the consortium are spread out as follows: over 42% belong to Romanian shareholders, 51.2% belong to the Austrian company OMV, and the remaining 6.4% belong to other foreign investors.

With this ambitious project, Romania will become a key player in the gas sector in Europe. The Neptune Deep gas tunnel opens up new prospects for the country and contributes to increased energy security throughout the region.

Written by Mariusz Dasiewicz