Bucharest, March 6, 2025 – RBJ – The Transocean Barents oil rig has departed from the port of Constanta/Romania for the Neptun Deep perimeter area, 160 kilometers offshore, where it will begin drilling for deep-sea deposits, OMV Petrom announced.
“A safe departure for Transocean Barents!. The mobile drilling unit departed from Constanta for the Neptun Deep field, 160 km offshore from Tuzla, in the Romanian Black Sea. There, the drilling of the 10 production wells for the NeptunDeep project will begin, safely and according to plan,” Petrom wrote.
The offshore drilling will last a maximum of one and a half years, according to the Romanian company.
Transocean Barents, the semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit contracted for Neptun Deep, the first deepwater gas project in Romania, arrived in Constanta in November 2024.
“The platform has undergone a complex preparation process. Essentially, the derrick weighing around 220 tonnes was folded onto the deck to allow passage under the bridges in the Bosphorus Strait. The crew will now perform the reverse operation and prepare the drilling equipment so that, in 2025, we can safely start operations,” said Cristian Hubati, member of the OMV Petrom Management Board, responsible for Exploration and Production.
The Neptun Deep project is being developed by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, each company having a 50% stake in the project. The investments required for the development phase total up to 4 billion euros. Total production is estimated at approximately 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas. First gas deliveries are expected in 2027.
Following the investment decision of June 2023, execution agreements were signed with major international companies: the Transocean Barrents drilling rig was contracted for a minimum period of one and a half years, with integrated drilling services to be provided by Halliburton Romania. The extraction platform is now being built by Saipem in Asia.
The infrastructure required for the development of the commercial Domino and Pelican Sud fields includes 10 wells, 3 subsea production systems and the associated pipeline network, an offshore platform, the main gas pipeline to Tuzla and the gas metering station. The platform generates its own energy, operating to the highest safety and environmental protection standards.
