OMV Petrom Romania has completed the takeover of OMV Offshore Bulgaria

By Edwig Ban
OMV Petrom has completed the transaction for the acquisition of a 100% stake in OMV Offshore Bulgaria GmbH from OMV Exploration & Production GmbH and is entering the license to explore the explore the Han-Asparuh perimeter, according to a company press release.
Following Repsol’s withdrawal, the Bulgarian regulatory authority approved the allocation of Repsol’s 30% stake to the other two remaining partners.
Thus, OMV Petrom’s participation in the perimeter, through OMV Offshore Bulgaria GmbH, is now 42.86%, together with Total (57.14%) as operator.
“This acquisition is an important step in our strategy to expand our Upstream operations in the region. OMV Petrom has been operating in the Black Sea for over four decades as an operator and has gained valuable experience in deep water as a non-operator under the license for Neptun Deep in Romania “, said Peter Zeilinger, member of the Management Board of OMV Petrom, responsible for Upstream.
In 2012, the Bulgarian government allocated the Han-Asparuh exploration perimeter to the consortium of OMV (30%), Total (40%) and Repsol (30%).
Han-Asparuh is located in the west of the Black Sea, in Bulgaria, south of the perimeter of Neptun Deep in Romania and covers an area of 13,819 km, with a maximum water depth of over 2,000 m.
Exploration activities began in 2012 and included geological and geophysical studies, as well as drilling of three exploration wells.
An extensive 3D seismic acquisition campaign was completed in May 2020, covering an area of 5,614 km. Currently, seismic data is being processed and, depending on the results, the joint venture will carry out future exploration activities.
Exploration of the Romanian continental shelf in the Black Sea has been underway since 1969. The first discovery of hydrocarbons took place in 1980, and the first production at sea began in 1987. Currently, OMV Petrom has exploration, development and production operations in shallow waters (Istria block) and exploration operations in partnership with ExxonMobil in deep waters (Neptune Deep).
The production of crude oil and gas from shallow waters (Istria block) is about 25,000 barrels of oil / day. In 2019, it represented about 17% of the group’s production in Romania.
OMV Petrom is the largest energy company in Southeast Europe, with an annual oil and gas production at group level of 55.4 million boe in 2019. The group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tons per year and operates an 860 MW high-efficiency power plant.
On the retail petroleum products distribution market, the Group is present in Romania and neighboring countries through 802 gas stations, at the end of June 2020, under two brands, OMV and Petrom.
OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria, holds 51.011% of the shares in OMV Petrom. The Romanian state, through the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Business Environment, holds 20.639% of OMV Petrom shares, Fondul Proprietatea holds 9.998%, and 18.352% are freely traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
OMV Petrom is the largest taxpayer in the state budget, with contributions of 30.4 billion euros representing taxes, duties and dividends paid between 2005 and 2019.