OMV Petrom retires Gloria off Romania

Local player GSP Offshore to handle the work in the Black Sea

OMV Petrom retires Gloria off Romania
Foto: OMV Petrom/

OMV Petrom is starting the decommissioning of Romania’s Gloria offshore platform, which will retire after more than 40 years of service.

Petrom, a subsidiary of Austrian group OMV, selected local player GSP Offshore to handle the work, due to start this month, as the platform “reached the end of its economic lifetime limit”, according to the operator.

“It is a complex process, which will be undertaken for the first time in Romania,” Petrom said in a statement.

“GSP Offshore, a Romanian company, has won the tender for removal services, with an estimated value of approximately €5 million ($5.5 million),” it added.

The Gloria platform was the first offshore drilling platform to be installed in Romania. It was commissioned in 1976 and, in 1980, it completed drilling at Lebada 8, which became the first commercial offshore hydrocarbon discovery in the country.

“The Gloria platform has made its full contribution to ensuring Romania's energy supply. Its cumulated production over the last 20 years is equivalent to over 20 million car refuels and the energy for heating 170,000 homes,” Peter Zeilinger, the member of Petrom’s executive board responsible for upstream, said.

“However, the platform has reached the end of its economic lifetime and it needs to be decommissioned. We will make every effort to carry out this process efficiently and in a safe manner.

“The Gloria platform will remain in the history of the offshore industry in Romania. We will continue to operate the other six offshore production platforms, which provide over 16% of the group's production,” Zeilinger said.

Gloria is located approximately 30 kilometres from shore in water depths of around 40 metres and was used as a production platform.

According to Petrom, the decommissioning solution will involve reinstating the platform jacking system, positioning the Gloria platform on a cargo barge and transporting it to the shore.

Production at Gloria has already ceased, according to the Romanian mineral resources regulator (ANRM).

Output was around 200 barrels per day, accounting for less than 0.15% of Petrom's total production.

In recent years, offshore oil exploration has taken a backseat to gas exploration, after supermajor ExxonMobil hit massive quantities of gas on its Neptun block, where Petrom is a partner.

The pair are looking to develop the giant offshore block, which holds the Domino discovery, but last year a final investment decision was delayed after a new offshore law was introduced.

(Copyright)
Published 23 May 2019, 14:12Updated 23 May 2019, 14:12
EuropeEastern EuropeField developmentDecommissioningCompany news