Shell secures Bulgarian exploration acreage

Supermajor Shell signed a deal with the Bulgarian government on Tuesday for exploration rights in the Black Sea, according to the Bulgarian Energy Ministry.

Shell has secured exploration rights for the 4000 square metre Block 1-26 Khan Tervel field.

"I hope that in the coming years, together with the exploration work and the trust that local communities will place in this approach, we will be able to boast of securing our energy independence and having a much more affordable source of energy,” Bulgaria Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said during a signing ceremony in Sofia on Tuesday.

The Bulgarian government hopes domestic, deepwater gas exploration will allow the country to diversify gas supply away from its previous dependence on Russian pipeline imports as part of European efforts to wean itself off Russian gas following the Ukraine war.

"With this contract, we are taking a significant step toward uncovering the deep Black Sea’s potential for future gas supplies," Bulgaria's Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said.

Shell will deploy artificial intelligence as part of its work and undertake new 3D seismic surveys as well as reprocessing existing data, the ministry said.

“Today, with the signing of the agreement for oil and gas exploration in Block 1-26 Han Tervel with the Ministry of Energy, we mark an important stage in the new history of Shell’s oil and gas exploration in Bulgaria,’ Shell’s executive vice president for exploration, strategy and portfolio Eugene Okpere said.