ExxonMobil has confirmed it is testing the market for interest in its giant Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea off Romania, where the US supermajor has been rumoured to be selling its stake.

ExxonMobil and project partner OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of Austria’s OMV, each hold a 50% share of the giant offshore block, which holds the Domino discovery. Domino has been hailed as holding between 1.5 trillion and 3 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to previous reports.

However, the project partners have been on the fence about announcing a final investment decision for Neptun Deep amid recent regulatory and fiscal changes in Romania.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to Upstream: “ExxonMobil is testing market interest for ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Romania and/or its 50% interest in the XIX Neptun block in Romania.

"We are providing information to third parties that may have an interest, but no agreements have been reached and no buyer has been identified."

Since the 2012 discovery, ExxonMobil and OMV have drilled a total of seven more wells on the acreage, including Flamingo, Dolphin, Pelican South and Califar, with OMV having said previously that some $1.5 billion has already been invested in the block.

Local reports have previously suggested ExxonMobil plans to offer up access to the data acquired from its work in the Black Sea so far, aiming to attract interested parties and eventually sell its share of the block.

Upstream understands Canada’s Scotiabank is representing ExxonMobil in the process.

Last week, an ExxonMobil letter was circulated to “interested parties” with information about the block, Romanian media said. Polish state-owned oil and gas group PGNiG is among the prospective bidders interested in ExxonMobil’s stake, G4Media.ro reported.

In addition, Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz has also expressed interest in buying a 15% to 20% minority stake in the project that ExxonMobil is developing.

The company’s executive director Adrian Volintiru told local media the company “is interested… but it is a multi-step process that must be undergone before making the final decision”.

Meanwhile, Romania’s centrist president, Klaus Iohannis, won a second term in the country’s general elections over the weekend.

The centre-right former physics professor won slightly more than 63% of the vote with 95% of ballots counted. His opponent, Social Democrats (PSD) leader and former prime minister, Viorica Dancila, received the remaining 37%, the worst-ever result for her party.

During the campaign, Iohannis indicated willingness to make changes to the controversial legislation covering Black Sea oil and gas exploration, which forced operators to pause projects after being introduced in late 2018.

Finance

ExxonMobil tests market interest for Romania’s Neptun Deep