WATCH: Transocean rig on its way to kick off 10-well drilling gig

One of the semi-submersible rigs, owned by Switzerland-based offshore drilling contractor Transocean, is on the move to reach an offshore site where it will embark on a multi-well drilling campaign to unlock natural gas from a project in the Black Sea.

After Transocean landed a 540-day contract for the Transocean Barents rig in December 2023 for a drilling program off the coast of Romania with Southeastern Europe’s integrated energy player, OMV Petrom, the semi-submersible rig arrived in Constanta in November 2024 to get ready for its drilling assignment.

The rig is scheduled to spin the drill bit in April 2025 at the Neptun Deep project, which is being developed by OMV Petrom and Romgaz, with each company having a 50% participating interest.

While disclosing that the rig is making its way toward the drill site, the operator highlighted: “A safe sail-away for Transocean Barents! The mobile drilling platform unit has left Constanța towards the Neptun Deep field, 160 km offshore of Tuzla, in the Romanian Black Sea. There, it will start drilling the 10 production wells for the Neptun Deep project, safely and on track!”

Transocean rig sails away toward Neptun Deep

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The final investment decision (FID) for the Neptun Deep project was made in June 2023, estimating the total project investment to be up to €4 billion for the development phase. The first gas is anticipated to be achieved in 2027, with the total production expected at around 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

OMV Petrom disclosed last month that the Neptun Deep project was progressing according to plan, with 90% of the budget already committed. The construction of the production platform advanced during the fourth quarter of 2024 at Saipem‘s sites in Indonesia and Italy, as a result of a €1.6 billion contract for the offshore facilities. 

The operator inked deals with several companies, enabling Halliburton to provide integrated drilling services and Corinth Pipeworks, the steel pipe segment of Cenergy Holdings, to handle manufacturing and supply of the pipeline for the Black Sea project. The latest firm to get a job on this project is Expro.

Situated around 160 kilometers from the shore, in waters between 100 and 1,000 meters, the Neptun Deep block in the Black Sea covers an area of 7,500 square kilometers. This project is forecast to have a carbon footprint of around 2.2 kg CO2/boe, seen as being significantly below the industry average of 16.7 kg CO2/boe.