OMV Petrom agrees with Romgaz to become operator for the Neptun Deep project

OMV Petrom, the major energy company operating in Romania and in South-Eastern Europe, has announced this morning that it will act as operator for Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea, if ExxonMobile accepts the Romgaz offer.

Local mainstream media used to report a month ago that there were some tension between OMV Petrom and the Romanian state on who should be the operator of the perimeter. Although the initial agreement was that OMV Petrom should be operator, the Romanian state wanted Romgaz to lead the operations after taking over the shares from Exxon.

OMV Petrom announced in a press release on Friday that they are “cooperating with Romgaz, the main producer and supplier of natural gas in Romania, to unlock the natural gas resources in the Black Sea. These are essential for Romania’s energy security, for the success of the energy transition and for generating economic growth.”

In case of acceptance of the Romgaz offer by ExxonMobil, OMV Petrom will act as operator for Neptun Deep block.

Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom said „The Black Sea is a unique opportunity for Romania and we are committed to contributing to its materialization. OMV Petrom has over 40 years of offshore experience as operator in the Black Sea and also benefits from OMV Group’s international deepwater capabilities.”

In his turn, Aristotel Jude, general manager of Romgaz stated: “We are ready to act as equal partners to make this strategic project happen. If our offer is accepted, OMV Petrom will become the project operator.”

In February this year, Romgaz announced that he would file a bid to take over the Exxon stake in the Black Sea natural gas project “Neptun Deep” in the upcoming two months until the incumbent interim GM’s term expires, Energy minister Virgil Popescu has announced on Thursday. The gas extraction might kick off in 2025.