Mobile offshore drilling unit for Neptun Deep arrives in Romania

OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeastern Europe and operator of the Neptun Deep project, announced that Transocean Barents, the semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit contracted for Neptun Deep, arrived in Constanta, https://ceenergynews.com/ reports.   “The arrival of the rig marks an important step in our journey to develop the first deep offshore gas project in Romania, together with our partner Romgaz,” said Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom. “Neptun Deep is a strategic project for Romania and the EU. It will contribute to the country’s energy independence and economic growth. Our focus is on the safe and efficient completion of the project as we move towards first gas.”   Transocean Barents safely reached Constanta after a voyage of 18 days: she departed from Cartagena, Spain at the end of October and passed under the Bosporus Strait bridges, which required the laydown of the derrick, a world first for Transocean and this type of rig.   Prior to her departure from Cartagena, the Transocean Barents underwent major structural modifications and upgrades to enable the tilting operation of the derrick. In total, it took around 750,000 man-hours and 8 months to prepare the Transocean Barents for her voyage into the Black Sea.   “The rig underwent a complex preparation process,” added Cristian Hubati, member of the OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for the Exploration and Production activities. “Essentially, the derrick which weighs around 220 tons was lowered on to the deck to allow passage under the bridges in the Bosporus Strait. The crew will now perform the reverse operation and prepare the equipment for drilling so that we can start operations safely in 2025.”   The Neptun Deep project is developed by OMV Petrom and Romgaz with each company having a 50 per cent participating interest in the project. The investments necessary for the development phase are overall up to 4 billion euros. The total production is estimated at around 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas. The first gas is expected in 2027.   (Photo:https://financialintelligence.ro/)