OMV Petrom and Romgaz invest four billion euros in Black Sea gas production

Romanian company OMV Petrom, majority-owned by Austrian group OMV, has decided to proceed with the Neptun Deep deepwater gas production project in the Black Sea, one of the EU’s most significant natural gas fields. The project is expected to cost around four billion euros (CZK 95.1 billion). OMV Petrom will work with Romanian state-owned gas group Romgaz on production, which the company expects to start in 2027. This is according to a statement released by OMV Petrom today.

In 2012, the company announced that it had discovered a gas field in the Black Sea containing around 42 to 84 billion cubic metres of gas. The latest estimates put the field’s recoverable gas reserves at around 100 billion cubic metres.

The final investment decision was postponed several times over the past decade. Previous governments introduced punitive taxes and regulatory restrictions. The impact of the delays was felt most acutely in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered an energy crisis. Last year, Romanian lawmakers cleared the way for investment in the Black Sea, which the EU estimates may hold up to 200 billion cubic metres of gas. This could diversify regional supplies, help Romania transition to green energy and generate billions in revenue.