OMV Petrom has let an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCIC) contract to Saipem SPA for the Neptun Deep natural gas development project in the Black Sea, Romania.
The contract scope of work includes a gas processing platform in about 100 ft of water, three subsea developments (in about 1,000 m of water in Domino field and about 100 m of water in Pelican field), a 30-in. gas pipeline about 160 km long, and associated fiber optic cabling from the shallow water platform to the Romanian coast.
OMV Petrom made a positive final investment decision on the project—Romania’s first in deepwater—in June (OGJ Online, June 21, 2023). Startup is expected in 2027.
The gas processing platform will be fabricated at Saipem’s yards in Italy and Indonesia, and offshore operations will be performed by the Saipem 7000 and JSD 6000 vessels. Technological tests and analysis for materials used in the project will be carried out in Romania, through the local entity of Saipem in Ploiesti.
OMV Petrom operates the project in a 50-50 partnership with Romgaz. Together, the companies will invest up to EUR 4 billion for the project's development phase, which is expected enable about 100 billion cu m of natural gas to be brought on stream.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
