OMV has discovered a new oil reservoir in the Black Sea off Romania with production potential of 1500 to 2000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).
The reservoir in the shallow-water Istria XVIII offshore perimeter was identified by OMV's Marina 1 exploration well at a cost of around €19 million (US$ 26 million), OMV said.
"In the following months, OMV Petrom will evaluate the results of the Marina 1 well and assess its commercial viability in order to develop and start production from the new reservoir," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
If the discovery is judged to be commercially viable, it could start production over the next three to four years, and would require investment of over €100 million.
Production from shallow waters accounts for 18% of OMV's hydrocarbons production in Romania, which along with Austria accounts for 70% of OMV's total production.
The company's production target this year is 310-330 boepd.
Edited from various sources by Katie Woodward