Han Asparuh - Exploring the Black Sea's Energy Potential

An offshore exploration ship sails in waters. It is gray and red and has a huge installation used to drill exploration and production wells in underwater oil and gas blocks

Following the successful discoveries in the Neptun Deep block in Romania, we expanded our exploration efforts at a regional level, in the Han Asparuh block, located in the Bulgarian sector of the Black Sea, together with our partners: NewMed Energy and Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH).

The exploration of the Black Sea potential is an important step for Bulgaria, with the chance to transform the country from a natural gas importer into a regional supplier. Investments in the offshore oil and gas sector generate significant multiplier effects, stimulating economic growth, increasing state budget revenues and contributing to the creation of jobs.

About Han Asparuh

Located south of the Neptun Deep block, in the western Black Sea, covering an area of approximately 13,000 km²
OMV Petrom is the project operator and holds 45% of the participation, while NewMed Energy holds a 45% participation and BEH holds 10%
The maximum water depth is around 2,000 meters

The Han Asparuh block project involved contracting the Globetrotter I drilling vessel, a state-of-the-art unit specialized in deepwater offshore drilling and operated by Noble Corporation.

The drilling campaign in the Han Asparuh block began in Q4 2025 and ended in March 2026. During this phase, the vessel operated by Noble Corporation drilled two exploration wells in the Black Sea, without encountering significant gas volumes. The data gathered by the two exploration wells drilled contribute to advancing the geological understanding of the region.

Exploration timeline in Han Asparuh

August 2020: OMV Petrom enters the Han-Asparuh licence
June 2024: OMV Petrom takes over TotalEnergies' participation in the licence
March 2025: NewMed Energy becomes a project partner following the completion of the farm-down transaction and currently holds as 45% interest
Q4 2025: Start of the exploration campaign
January 2026: State-owned BEH enters the Han Asparuh exploration joint venture with a 10% interest
March 2026: End of the exploration campaign

Find out more

OMV Petrom in the Black Sea

We have over 40 years of experience in oil and gas production in the Black Sea. In the Romanian sector, we operate several blocks, producing oil and gas in the shallow waters. In deepwater, OMV Petrom, in partnership with Romgaz, is developing the Neptun Deep project, with estimated volumes of 100 billion cubic meters of gas. First gas from Neptun Deep is expected in 2027.