Austrian energy group OMV announced that gas production from Romania’s Black Sea Neptun Deep project is set to start in 2027, marking a major step forward for European energy independence. The €4 billion venture is being developed jointly by OMV’s Romanian arm, OMV Petrom, and state-owned gas producer Romgaz, with both holding equal 50% stakes.
Drilling of the first of ten planned production wells began in March 2025 and is expected to take two to three months, OMV confirmed. Located about 160 kilometers offshore from Tuzla, in water depths ranging from 100 to 1,000 meters, the Neptun Deep block spans 7,500 square kilometers. The project is expected to produce around 8 billion cubic meters of gas annually once fully operational—enough to meet the annual needs of approximately 30 times the number of Romanian households currently consuming gas.
The estimated 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable reserves position Romania to become the EU’s leading gas producer and a net exporter for the first time in its history.
The development includes ten wells, three subsea production systems with flow lines, an offshore platform, a pipeline to Tuzla, and a gas metering station. The platform will be self-powered and meet strict safety and environmental standards. A notable feature of the project is the use of a digital twin system for remote operation, enhancing efficiency and reducing emissions.
The Transocean Barents drilling rig, contracted to execute the drilling operations, arrived in Constanța in November 2024 after an 18-day voyage from Spain and moved to the offshore site in February 2025.
Despite this progress, OMV reported weaker-than-expected financial results for Q1 2025, with an adjusted operating profit of €1.16 billion—5.7% below analyst forecasts—due to lower output from its Fuels & Feedstock and Energy divisions. The company had earlier cited reduced energy sales from the divestment of SapuraOMV, partially offset by stronger production in Norway and Libya.
