Romanian state-owned natural gas producer Romgaz announced that on 1 August, it has completed the takeover of all shares of ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary that held 50 % stake in the Black Sea Neptun Deep gas project.
Initially, the date for the completion of the transaction and the payment of 1.06 billion dollars in full was 30 June. In early May, Romgaz has signed the contract for the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s 50 % stake in the Black Sea Neptun Deep perimeter.
Romgaz CEO Arsitotel Jude said that the company is committed to proceed to the development- production phase in the shortest possible time, together with OMV Petrom.
OMV Petrom is Romgaz’ partner in the project, holding the remaining 50 % stake, who also became the project’s operator after the ExxonMobil’s exit.
Last week, OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere said that the company will make the final investment decision on the Neptun Deep project in mid-2023, only after Romanian authorities provide further clarifications regarding the recently amended offshore law.
If everything goes according to plan, gas extraction at Neptun Deep will start in mid-2027, with an initial output of 6 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
According to preliminary findings, Neptun Deep perimeter has reserves of 42-84 billion cubic meters of gas, enough to cover Romania’s domestic consumption for about a decade.
