Romanian oil and gas producer OMV Petrom and Israeli oil and gas firm NewMed Energy have hired a Noble drillship for two exploration wells in the Black Sea, offshore Bulgaria. The contract was awarded to Noble’s 2011-built Globetrotter I ultra-deepwater drillship. The two wells will be drilled on the Han-Asparuh Block. The drilling campaign is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year and last approximately four months. The value of the rig contract is approximately $80m. The integrated drilling services will be provided by Halliburton, while the well testing services will be provided by SLB. Total drilling budget expected at approximately €170m ($198.6m). Han Asparuh sits in the western Black Sea in Bulgaria, south of the Neptun Deep block in Romania and has an area of 13,712 sq km with water depths slightly below 2,000 m. Exploration activities started in 2012 and included geological and geophysical surveys and the drilling of three exploration wells. Other potential drilling targets were found following an extensive 3D seismic campaign finalised in May 2020. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsBulgaria Israel Romania United States