Key Projects

Neptun (Romania, OMV 50%)

In cooperation with ExxonMobil as the operator, OMV Petrom continued the assessment of the commercial and economic viability of the Neptun Deep project in the Romanian Black Sea. Amendments of the fiscal and regulatory framework were under public debate during 2019, however, by the end of the year, these haven’t materialized and the legislative environment did not provide the necessary prerequisites for a multibillion investment decision. OMV Petrom remains keen to see the Black Sea resources developed and will therefore continue the dialogue with the authorities to unlock the way forward. The cumulative production from Neptun Deep is estimated at 125-250 mn boe (net to OMV).

Other major projects (Romania, OMV 100%)

In 2019, around EUR 120 mn were invested in the modernization, extension, and construction of new oil and gas processing facilities and pipelines.

In July 2019, OMV Petrom commissioned the Hurezani gas treatment plant following an investment of approximately EUR 50 mn in 2017. The project includes the construction of a gas treatment facility with a maximum capacity of 37 kboe/d of natural gas, which separates natural gas from condensate. Pipelines were built over a 12 km distance as part of the same investment.

Nawara (Tunisia, OMV 50%)

At the end of 2019, the OMV-operated onshore Nawara gas condensate field development project was 99% complete. Throughout the year, project progress was impacted in an overall challenging operating environment by a combination of several factors: social unrest, project complexity, and contractor performance. The pipeline was completed by April, while both the gas treatment plant in Gabes and the central processing facility are nearly finalized. Gas-in was achieved at the gas treatment plant in October 2019, with commissioning still in progress. The project will unlock South Tunisia’s gas resources and supply gas, LPG, and condensate to the Tunisian market. Peak production is expected to reach around 10 kboe/d (OMV share).

Umm Lulu and SARB (UAE, OMV 20%)

Umm Lulu and Satah Al Razboot (SARB) are two offshore oil fields situated in the shallow waters of Abu Dhabi. Pipelines connect both fields to dedicated processing, storage, and loading facilities on Zirku Island. In 2019, work progressed significantly towards the completion of the Umm Lulu bridge-linked offshore platforms, with all modules successfully installed and undergoing commissioning. Full field start-up is expected in 2020, with development drilling to continue until 2023. Production start-up of the Umm Lulu and SARB fields was achieved in September 2018 and reached an average level of 22 kboe/d in 2019. Production from the concession area is expected to increase to 215 kboe/d (43 kboe/d net to OMV) by 2023.

Khor Mor (KRI, OMV 10%)

The Pearl consortium (OMV 10% share) develops, processes, and transports natural gas from Khor Mor, a major gas condensate field located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The consortium plans to increase production by drilling new wells and by expanding the facilities. OMV’s final investment decision for the first 42 kboe/d train and the drilling of five infill wells was made in October 2019. The resulting additional gas production will be introduced into the existing Pearl-operated gas pipeline to support domestic gas demand.

Gullfaks (Norway, OMV 19%)

At the Equinor-operated Gullfaks field, six platform wells were re-drilled and completed in 2019 with the goal of increasing production from mature wells. A rig specially designed to perform efficient drilling operations on subsea developments drilled and completed four wells. The Gullfaks and Snorre oil and gas platforms will be the first in the world to be partially supplied with energy from a floating offshore wind farm, thus reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 200,000 t/a. The Norwegian authorities approved plans to inject water in the producing Shetland/Lista formation in June 2019. Subsequently, drilling of the first horizontal injection/production well pair started in mid-2019.

Gudrun (Norway, OMV 24%)

Production from the existing wells in the Equinor-operated Gudrun field continued at a high level, although the field is experiencing a natural decline. During 2019, the license group approved an improved oil recovery program, which includes three new infill wells and a project to start water injection in the main reservoir called Gudrun Phase 2, which involves five wells. In total, eight new wells have been approved for drilling on Gudrun. Drilling activities commenced with the Rowan Stavanger drilling rig in November 2019. Production from two of the new wells is expected to start during the first half of 2020. Water injection is planned to commence during the first quarter 2021.

Edvard Grieg (Norway, OMV 20%)

The Lundin Petroleum-operated Edvard Grieg offshore oil field produced above expectations due to the extended production plateau and high facility uptime. Further resource maturation is planned via an infill drilling program in 2020, targeting undrained areas of the Edvard Grieg field. In 2019, the Norwegian government approved a project that will allow electrification of the Edvard Grieg platform from the shore, which will reduce CO₂ emissions. In addition, work is also ongoing to tie back two discoveries in nearby licenses (Solveig and Rolvsnes) to Edvard Grieg as the host facility.

Aasta Hansteen (Norway, OMV 15%)

After some successful testing, the Aasta Hansteen platform was able to increase its gross production capacity by around 12% in Q2/19. Production at Snefrid Nord, the first subsea tie-back to Aasta Hansteen which was discovered in 2015, came online in September 2019.

Wisting (Norway, OMV 25%)

The Wisting discoveries are located in the Barents Sea. In June 2019, OMV signed a memorandum of understanding with Equinor on collaboration on the Norwegian continental shelf. OMV handed over operatorship of the development to Equinor in December, resuming operatorship at first oil. The project will be developed by an integrated team staffed by both companies under the lead of Equinor. The recoverable resources in PL537 were estimated at around 440 mn barrels of oil in 2018, compared to 350 mn barrels in 2017.

Yuzhno Russkoye (Russia, OMV 24.99%)

Phase 1 of the drilling campaign to sustain plateau production at the Gazprom-operated Yuzhno Russkoye gas field was concluded in 2019. Twelve additional production wells targeting the field’s Turonian layer were brought on stream. Phase 2 started at the end of 2019. In addition, the operator initiated a project to investigate the potential of the field’s deeper Lower Cretaceous layers.

SK408 (Malaysia, OMV 40%)

In Malaysia, developing Phase 1 of the SK408 gas license was the main focus in 2019. The GoLaBa fields (Gorek, Larak, and Bakong) will be developed as three separate wellhead platforms tied back to an existing processing facility and to a nearby LNG plant. Production began at Larak in December 2019. Bakong and Gorek will follow in 2020. This will increase production in Malaysia to more than 30 kboe/d in 2020. The development of the Jerun field is planned to be executed as Phase 2 of the SK408 development with production scheduled to start in 2023.

Maui A Crestal Infill (New Zealand, OMV 100%)

The final investment decision to execute a six-well development from the Maui A platform in the Taranaki Basin in New Zealand was made in October 2019. Platform pre-works began in 2019, with rig mobilization planned in the second quarter 2020 and first gas expected in the third quarter 2020. Drilling will continue in 2021.