OMV Petrom (BVB ticker: SNP), the largest oil and gas producer in south-eastern Europe, will invest EUR 30 million during 2014-2015 to redevelop its Tazlău oil field, located in the north-eastern part of Romania, in Bacau county, the company announced.

Tazlau is a mature oil field, producing for more than 60 years, with a daily production of below 1% of the total oil production of OMV Petrom in Romania, the company’s representatives said. The field redevelopment consists in water injection to increase the field’s production.

“The Tazlau redevelopment project consists of 20 workover operations, the construction of water treatment facilities and a new water distribution network. This project is expected to unlock additional oil reserves of 3.2 million barrels (equivalent to around 10% of OMV Petrom’s annual oil production in Romania), replacing the natural decline,” according to OMV Petrom’s statement.

At the end of 2013, the company has 11 field redevelopment projects were in development phase. “The future investments planned for the implementation of these projects amount to over EUR 500 million and the proved and probable reserves amount to around 100 million barrels of oil equivalent,” the company’s representatives added.

OMV Petrom will also give up on 30 of its onshore oil deposits, which only contribute 0.6% of the company’s total oil production. The company said that these deposits may be interesting for other companies, which could use different technologies to improve their performances, according to local Ziarul Financiar.

OMV Petrom is by far the largest oil producer in Romania. The company produced an average of 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in the first nine months of 2014, 2% less than in the same period of 2013. The company’s oil production declined by 4% in the same period, while gas production remained constant.

OMV Petrom’s profit went down by a third in the first nine months.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com