Romania's oil and gas company OMV Petrom is part of then consortium that won a bid for gas exploration in Ukraine's Black Sea region. Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell lead the consortium, which also includes state-owned Ukrainian company Nadra. Ukraine hopes to find oil and gas reserves in its Black Sea region and help the country depend less on imports from Russia.

The country expects a hydrocarbon discovery in the Skifska bedding, similarly to Exxon Mobil and OMV Petrom's discovery on Romania's Black Sea coast.

The bid winners in Ukraine agreed to invest USD 400 million to exploit the Skifska perimeter, double the minimum required amount.

ExxonMobil Exploration, Production Romania and OMV Petrom in February announced a significant gas discovery in the Black Sea: up to 84 billion cubic meters of natural gas, almost 6 times Romania's yearly consumption.

editor@romania-insider.com

(in picture: Exxon Mobil's Deepwater Champion; Photo: Exxon Mobil)