Bulgaria seeks seismic partner for Black Sea project

Bulgaria

SOFIA, June 20, 2024 – Eyeing a new exploration campaign in the Black Sea, Bulgarian officials are seeking an investor to provide seismic studies over a five-year period, Upstream Online reported on Thursday.

Bulgaria is seeking to develop Block 1-26 Khan Tervel, a licence in its Black Sea territorial waters.

The country is launching a competitive bid round for the seismic works, and has published details in the Official Journal of the European Union, noting a bidding deadline of November 20.

The Khan Tervel asset is situated to the south of the Khan Asparuh field, currently under exploration by partners TotalEnergies and Romania’s OMV Petrom, the report said.

OMV Petrom operates Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore gas project, which borders Khan Asparuh and is poised for first output in 2027.

Production from Black Sea fields would be a game-changer for Bulgaria, which has scant output at present and has recently struggled to secure feedstock for its 190,000-bpd Burgas Refinery as crude imports from Russia have been heavily restricted since March.

The Lukoil-owned refinery, the largest in the Balkans, may also change hands in the near future as the Russian oil giant is reportedly seeking to divest it. In February, Bulgaria’s finance minister discussed the need for a “strategic buyer” for the refinery during a trip to meet officials in Washington, D.C.

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