OMV Petrom to drill deepwater Black Sea exploration well

The well will target layers from the Pliocene-Miocene age in the Vinekh prospect and is expected to find natural gas.

June 12, 2025

1-21 Han Asparuh block offshore Bulgaria

OMV Petrom will drill the Krum-1 exploration well in the Black Sea.
The well will target Pliocene-Miocene age gas layers.

OMV Petrom SA will drill the Krum-1 exploration well in the Black Sea.

The well will be drilled to 3,540 m TD in Han Asparuh Block 1-21 about 130 km from the coast in 1,760 m of water, partner NewMed Energy LP said in a release June 11. The well will target layers from the Pliocene-Miocene age in the Vinekh prospect and is expected to find natural gas.

Drilling is expected to start upon completion of the Vinekh-1 well in first-quarter 2026 and will take about 2 months.

Block 1-21, spans about 13,712 sq km in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone.

OMV Petrom is operator of 1-21 Han Asparuh with partner NewMed Energy LP.

About the Author

Alex Procyk

Upstream Editor

Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).