The Bulgarian government said on Wednesday it has extended by 135 days the
permit held by France's Total, Austria’s OMV and Spain’s Repsol to explore for
oil and natural gas in an offshore block in the Black Sea.
The permit for exploration in the 1-21 Han Asparuh block is extended at the
request of Total E&P Bulgaria, the government said in a statement following
its regular weekly meeting.
In October, Total said it has discovered oil in the 1-21 Han Asparuh block.
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 sq km with
water depths up to 2,200 m.
In May 2016, Total, alongside OMV and Repsol, started drilling for oil and
gas in the 1-21 Han Asparuh block.
Total has a 40% interest in the project while OMV and Repsol own stakes of 30%
each.
In January 2014, the three companies completed a 210-day 3D seismic survey,
covering 7,740 sq km. It came after a 2D seismic survey of 3,000 km, which was
completed in October 2013. However, in December 2014, the consortium decided to
delay drilling at the block due to the slump in global oil prices.
Total won a permit for prospecting and exploration of oil and gas in the
1-21 Han Asparuh block in 2012. Under the terms of the contract, Total will
invest over 1.0 billion euro ($1.1 billion) in the gas exploration process,
while Bulgaria will receive 40 million euro in the form of a bonus payments
from the deal, the economy ministry said at the time.
(SeeNews, April 12 2017)