OMV Petrom, Hunt Oil discover new oil, gas field in Romania

Estimates from production tests indicate a potential production per well of 1,200 – 2,100 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day from two geological layers, OMV Petrom said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

The field was discovered in Perimeter VIII Urziceni Est by drilling the exploration well Padina Nord 1, at a depth of over 2,500 meters, about 7-12 kilometres away from mature fields, which are in production for more than 50 years.

“It is potentially the largest discovery in the past 30 years in the Muntenia region," Gabriel Selischi, member of OMV Petrom Executive Board, responsible for Exploration and Production, said in the statement.

"This year, we have made the largest exploration investments since privatization. It is important to continue exploration activities, as 90% of fields we are operating are mature ones and reached their production peak years ago," he added.

The two companies will continue testing operations to determine the production potential of the discovery and will be acquiring seismic data in the region.

The discovery was made within the onshore exploration partnership closed in 2010 by OMV Petrom and Hunt Oil, which targets the exploration of two onshore perimeters: I Adjud and VIII Urziceni Est, the operator being Hunt Oil.

OMV Petrom, the largest oil and gas group in southeastern Europe, supplies about 40% of Romania’s oil and gas demand.

($ = 0.8022 euro)