The French multi-energy company TotalEnergies is withdrawing from oil and gas exploration in the potential Khan Asparuh field in the northern Bulgarian waters of the Black Sea, according to an annual report of the other project partner - the Romanian OMV Petrom.
We continue to strengthen our positions in the Black Sea. We have assumed the role of operator and will continue the exploration activity in the perimeter of the Khan Asparuh field in Bulgaria," said OMV Petrom's annual report.
Romanian OMV Petrom, which owns 43% of the company's shares (the remaining 57% is owned by TotalEnergies), has permission to conduct exploration in Bulgaria. Activities began in 2012 and are expected to be completed by November 2024.
The Bulgarian field covers an area of 14 square kilometers and is adjacent to the Romanian perimeter of the Neptune Deep field, where OMV plans to start producing gas in 220.
The state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding has information from previous gas drilling that shows potential gas deposits between 210 and 510 billion cubic meters.
Two more prospective gas fields
According to data published by TotalEnergies, there are two prospective gas fields in the northern Bulgarian economic zone in the Black Sea, called "Vinekh" and "Krum".
The former is expected to produce five billion cubic meters of gas annually between 2030 and 2040, and the latter eight billion cubic meters between 2031 and 2044. This is much more than the annual gas consumption of the Bulgarian economy, which is three billion cubic meters annually.
After 2044, production will drop to three and four billion cubic meters respectively from each of the two fields by 2050.
The required investment in a gas well is between 80 and 100 million dollars, and upon proving a commercial discovery, the required investment to develop the field is between 4 and 8 billion euros, reports Euractiv.