Delay in Black Sea for Petroceltic

Petroceltic, the oil and gas exploration and production company, today reported a delay of some three months in the drilling of a second Romanian offshore well.

The company, whose operations are based in North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, says there is a delay in its western Black Sea drilling operations where the GSP Prometeu rig has completed the first of two exploration wells planned to be drilled offshore Romania this year.

“Some unscheduled but necessary maintenance works” will result in the deferral of the next exploration well in the drilling programme, Muridava-1 on Block Ex-27, which is now expected to spud at the end of the first quarter 2014.

The Muridava-1 well will be drilled on the same geologic trend as the existing Olimpiskaya and Eugenia gas discoveries and has multiple reservoir targets in the Eocene, Palaeocene and Cretaceous formations. The well will be drilled to a total depth of around 2,500 metres and is expected to take less than two months to complete.

The Block Ex-27 partnership comprises Petroceltic Romania B.V, (40 per cent equity and operator), Midia Resources S.R.L. which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sterling Resources Ltd (40 per cent equity) and Petromar Resources S.A.(20 per cent equity).