Neptun Deep is progressing according to plan with a view to the first deliveries of natural gas in 2027, which will contribute to Romania's energy security, OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in South-Eastern Europe, operator in the Neptun Deep project, announced on Wednesday in a press release sent to AGERPRES.

OMV Petrom announces the start of construction works for the steel support structure of the production platform ("jacket") the execution of which is part of the contract concluded with Saipem and is carried out at the construction site in Arbatax, Sardinia. In the first part of this year, the construction of the superstructure of the production platform began, at the Saipem construction site in Karimun, Indonesia, the cited source states.

"Together with our partners from Romgaz, we are very excited about the progress we are making, because this project will contribute to the security of energy supply for all of us. Neptun Deep is a unique project for Romania, which mobilizes investments of up to 4 billions euros, also contributing to the economic well-being of the country," Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, said in the press release.

The support structure ("jacket") is the first element of the Neptun Alpha platform that will be installed in the Black Sea. It will be approximately 140 meters high, with a base of approximately 40 square meters and will weigh over 7,000 tons. The upper part of the platform will be mounted on this structure.

"The Neptun Alpha platform will be installed in the water area with a depth of ~100 meters and is part of the infrastructure required for the production of the Domino and Pelican Sud offshore natural gas fields. The productive infrastructure also includes 10 wells, 3 submarine production systems and the network of associated collector pipes, the main gas pipeline to the shore (~160 km) and the gas measurement station in Tuzla," the press release reads.

The Neptun Deep project is being developed by OMV Petrom and Romgaz (through its subsidiary Romgaz Black Sea Limited), each of the companies having a 50% stake. The necessary investments for the development phase of the project are up to 4 billion euros.

The production was estimated at about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, equivalent to the current annual demand for natural gas of about 4.3 million households multiplied about 30 times.

OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy producer in South-Eastern Europe, with an annual group-wide oil and gas production of approximately 41 million boe in 2023. The group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tonnes annually and operates a highly efficient natural gas power plant of 860 MW. On the retail oil products distribution market, the Group is present in Romania and neighboring countries through approximately 780 gas stations, under two brands - OMV and Petrom.

OMV Petrom is a company in which, at the end of 2023, Romanian shareholders own over 43% of the shares (of which the Romanian state, through the Ministry of Energy, owns 20.7%, and 22.5% are owned by Romanian pension funds, to which are added almost 500,000 individual investors and other Romanian entities). OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of the largest listed industrial companies in Austria, owns 51.2% of OMV Petrom's shares, and the remaining 5.6% is owned by other foreign investors. Of the total shares of OMV Petrom, 28.1% are freely traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.AGERPRES(RO - author: Nicoleta Banciulea, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - editor: Maria Voican)