OMV Petrom and NewMed Energy Secure Noble Drillship for Black Sea Exploration
Romanian oil and gas producer OMV Petrom and Israeli oil and gas firm NewMed Energy have jointly secured the services of the Noble drillship for conducting two exploration wells in the Black Sea, offshore Bulgaria.
The contract has been awarded for Noble’s ultra-deepwater drillship, the Globetrotter I, which was built in 2011. The exploration wells will be drilled on the Han-Asparuh Block.
The drilling campaign is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of this year and is expected to last approximately four months. The value of the rig contract amounts to around $80 million.
Integrated drilling services will be provided by Halliburton, with well testing services to be handled by SLB. The total drilling budget is estimated to be approximately €170 million ($198.6 million).
The Han-Asparuh Block is located in the western Black Sea in Bulgaria, south of the Neptun Deep block in Romania. It covers an area of 13,712 sq km with water depths slightly below 2,000 m.
Exploration activities in the area commenced in 2012 and included geological and geophysical surveys, as well as the drilling of three exploration wells. Additional drilling targets were identified following an extensive 3D seismic campaign that concluded in May 2020.