June 10 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's government said on Wednesday that it has extended the oil and natural gas exploration permit for the 1-21 Han Asparuh offshore block in the Black Sea by two years, to May 15, 2022.
In addition, the government allowed Repsol Bulgaria to transfer its 30% interest to the two other participants in the project - Total E&P Bulgaria and OMV Offshore Bulgaria, it said in a statement following its weekly meeting.
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As a result, Total E&P Bulgaria will control 57.14% interest, while OMV Offshore Bulgaria will own 42.86%.
The two companies intend to invest 3.3 million euro ($3.8 million) in additional geological and geophysical works and seismic surveys during the two-year extension of the permit.
The 1-21 Han Asparuh block is located deep offshore in the Bulgarian sector in the western part of the Black Sea and covers an area of 14,220 sq km with water depths of up to 2,200 m.
In October 2016, Total said it had discovered oil in the block.
The companies won a permit for prospecting and exploration of oil and gas in the 1-21 Han Asparuh block in 2012. Under the terms of the contract, they committed to invest over 1.0 billion euro in the gas exploration process, while Bulgaria would receive 40 million euro in the form of bonus payments from the deal, the economy ministry said at the time.
($= 0.8799 euro)