OMV’s first exploration well as operator offshore Bulgaria appears to have been a dry hole.
The Noble Globetrotter I drillship spudded Vinekh-1 in late December on the deepwater Han Asparuh Block in the western Black Sea, 200 km east of Varna.
Partner NewMed Energy said the well had reached its final depth of about 3,230 m subsurface, with only minor gas shows in the targeted formations. Well site analyses continue.
A second planned exploration well on the Krum prospect, targeting different geology, should go ahead as planned in the next few weeks, with an estimated drilling duration of about two months.
Recently, state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) agreed to farm into 10% of the Han Asparuh concession by covering 10% of costs incurred to date in connection with drilling preparations and operations.
OMV Petrom remains operator with a 45% interest, and the remaining 45% is held by NewMed Energy.
Han Asparuh is south of OMV Petrom’s Neptun Block in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea. It spans a 13,712-sq-km area, in water depths just below 2,000 m.
