Bulgaria's Han Asparuh oil and gas block in the Black Sea is estimated to have the potential to produce a total of 13 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually from two fields, TotalEnergies EP Bulgaria managing director Yves Le Stunff said.
The Vinekh field, close to Turkish waters, is estimated to yield about 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year from 2030 until 2040, and then 3 bcm per year in the following decade, Le Stunff told the parliamentary energy committee last week as seen in a video archive published on the website of the National Assembly.
The Krum field is expected to produce 8 bcm per year between 2031 and 2044, going to 4 bcm per year until 2050, according to Le Stunff's presentation.
French energy major TotalEnergies and Romanian peer OMV Petrom last year received a two-year extension, until 2024, of the oil and natural gas exploration permit for the 1-21 Han Asparuh offshore block.
The project partners intend to start exploratory drilling for natural gas in the Han Asparuh offshore block in the second quarter of 2024, Le Stunff also said.
Alternative exploratory drilling works are also planned, with each exploratory drilling process to cost around 100 million US dollars (91.2 million euro), Le Stunff added.
If the initial exploratory drilling is successful, appraisal drilling will be conducted in 2025, with a view to starting production around 2030.
The companies are actively seeking a third shareholder to acquire an interest of up to 35% in the project, Le Stunff also said.
In 2020, project partner Repsol walked out of the consortium developing the Han Asparuh oil and gas field.
However, TotalEnergies and OMV Petrom decided to continue exploration in the eastern part of the block. Since 2012, the project partners have spent around 425 million euro ($466.1 million) on exploration activities in the block.
Bulgaria's current natural gas consumption is around 3 bcm per year, with about one third of it covered by Caspian gas imported through the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector.
In June, Romgaz and OMV Petrom said they will invest up to 4 billion euro in the development of the Neptun Deep offshore gas project in Black Sea, which borders the Han Asparuh field.
In December last year, Turkey discovered an additional 58 bcm natural gas in the Caycuma block in the Black Sea, with the reserves of its 13 wells revised upward to 652 billion cubic meters, according to an earlier statement by president Erdogan.
(SeeNews, July 10, 2023)
