OMV Petrom takes over Han Asparuh offshore block in Bulgaria

OMV Offshore Bulgaria is now the sole owner of the project's oil and gas exploration permit, which has been extended by 23 months due to force majeure, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

The force majeure covers the period between February 2022 and January 2024 and was prompted by the war in Ukraine and TotalEnergies' exit from the project.

The offshore exploration contract for the 1-21 Han Asparuh bloc was initially awarded in September 2012. In 2022, TotalEnergies and OMV Petrom received a two-year extension for the permit, valid until this year.

Last July, TotalEnergies EP Bulgaria managing director Yves Le Stunff said the Han Asparuh block is estimated to have the potential to produce a total of 13 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from two fields. At the time, the project partners planned to start exploratory drilling for natural gas in the field in the second quarter of 2024.