Romanian companies OMV Petrom and its partner Romgaz have made the final investment decision (FID) for the development of the Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea, with an investment of up to €4bn ($4.36bn).

Due to be developed in phases, the project involves the development of the Domino and Pelican South commercial natural gas fields in the Neptun Deep block.

OMV Petrom operates the project with a 50% stake while Romgaz owns the remaining 50% interest.

Due to be commissioned in 2027, the project is expected to have a peak production of about eight billion cubic metres of natural gas annually for almost ten years.

OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere said: "With the final investment decision for the Neptun Deep project, we are opening a new game-changing chapter for the Romanian energy sector. Together with our partner, Romgaz, we are entering the development phase of the first deepwater offshore project in Romania. The project will contribute to Romania’s economic growth and will strengthen the country's energy security.

“To give an example of the project’s size: the estimated natural gas production is equivalent to [around] 30 times the current annual demand of [around] 4,300,000 households. It is also a major step forward for our Strategy 2030 that aims at supporting the energy transition in Romania and in the region."

OMV said that the Domino and Pelican South offshore natural gas fields’ development features ten wells, three subsea production systems and associated flow lines, an offshore platform, a main natural gas pipeline and a gas measurement station.

The entire infrastructure is due to be operated remotely, through a digital twin, for higher energy efficiency and process optimisation.

Recently, OMV Petrom discovered new crude oil and natural gas resources in the Oltenia and Muntenia regions in Romania. The discovery is estimated to hold around 30 million barrels of oil equivalent of recoverable resources in total.