Drillship secured for Bulgaria frontier exploration campaign

Romania’s OMV Petrom and Israel’s NewMed Energy have signed an $80 million rig contract with Noble Corporation covering the drilling of two exploration wells at a promising block in Bulgaria's Black Sea waters.

In a statement released on Tuesday, OMV Petrom said Noble's drillship Globetrotter I will drill the exploration wells in the Han Asparuh block.

The drilling campaign is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year and last about four months.

Integrated drilling services will be provided by Halliburton, with well testing services to be handled by SLB.

Total drilling budget for the two probes is expected to be about €170 million ($199 million), according to the statement.

The first well will target the Vinekh prospect that could hold 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, with the second well targeting the Krum prospect, which holds in-place resources estimated at 5.7 Tcf of gas.

Han Asparuh is a large exploration block located in the western Black Sea in Bulgaria in water depths of less than 2000 metres. It lies south of OMV Petrom's Neptun Deep gas project in Romanian waters which is due to start production in 2027.

Exploration activities on Han Asparuh — previously operated by France’s TotalEnergies — started in 2012 and included geological and geophysical surveys and drilling of three exploration wells.

In November 2024, OMV Petrom said that it divested a 50% non-operating interest in the block to NewMed.

Announcing its deal with OMV Petrom, NewMed said it will pay up to $104 million towards the costs of drilling the two wells.