Romania pinpoints blocks on offer

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Romania's National Agency for Mineral Resources (NAMR) has kicked off the first in a series of presentations of details of 15 blocks offered for exploration in the country's first licensing round.

Bids are required by Oct. 31 with a view to negotiations between NAMR and shortlisted bidders taking place in January-April 1997 and signing of contracts by the end of May 1997 (OGJ, Apr. 15, Newsletter).

Marketing of data packages and presentations to potential bidders are handled by Geoquest Reservoir Technologies Ltd., Henley-on-Thames, U.K.

Fifteen blocks are offered, all onshore except one that covers onshore and Black Sea acreage. NAMR said the blocks offer good exploration potential because they are underexplored.

NAMR said, "This is due to the paucity of seismic data in some areas-for example, on the eastern Carpathian blocks-and to the historical focus on discovery and development of Romania's prolific shallow reserves.

"Exploration will now focus on the deeper and prospective Paleogene, Mesozoic, and upper Paleozoic sections. Deep drilling has encountered significant source rock horizons in the older stratigraphic section."

Christopher Rowson, principal consultant, marketing, for Geoquest, said some of the blocks on offer are almost rank exploration plays, while others have remaining exploration potential below 2,000 m.

"They are considered to have good prospectivity," Rowson said, "because of the known potential of the surrounding area. Their proximity to well known oil fields is a promising factor."

Presentations to potential bidders began Apr. 23 in Bucharest. Further presentations were to follow in London, Houston, and San Diego.

Rowson said 80 companies were represented at the first presentation, of which 45 were foreign. Among them were Agip SpA, Amoco Corp., Atlantic Richfield Co., BHP Petroleum Pty. Ltd., Chevron Corp., Deminex AG, Mobil Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., OMV Aktiengeselschaft, Petrofina SA, Phillips Petroleum Co., Royal Dutch/Shell, Total SA, Triton Energy Corp., Turkish Petroleum Co., Union Texas Petroleum, and Wintershall AG.

NAMR claims Romania is the world's first oil producer, with production officially registered in 1857. Production peaked at 282,000 b/d in 1976, and gas flow peaked at 3.5 bcfd in 1986.

Production has since declined to an average 129,000 b/d and 2.4 bcfd in 1995. That is only half of Romania's oil and gas requirement.