Total E&P Bulgaria, the Bulgarian unit of France’s Total, has cancelled a
procedure for selecting a contractor for offshore drilling services for two
wells at Bulgaria’s 1-21 Han-Asparuh offshore exploration bloc, a notice
indicated.
The company has also cancelled a tender for offshore logistics
services related to the drilling of two wells at the exploration block, separate
notices published on the website of the Public Procurement Agency
indicated.
The drilling programme at the 1-21 Han-Asparuh exploration
block has been postponed for 2016, according to the notices.
The
Bulgarian unit of Total, which also acts on behalf of Austria’s OMV and Spain’s
Repsol, cites the fast and continuous reduction in oil prices worldwide, which
has affected the three companies' budgets, as the main reason for the
cancellation of the tenders. The companies are unable to provide financing for
the services envisioned in the tenders in 2015.
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 square kilometres with water depths
up to 2,200 metres.
Total has a 40% interest in the offshore project
while OMV and Repsol own stakes of 30% each.