Exploration Well in Black Sea Offshore Block Comes Up Dry
February 4, 2026
An OMV Petrom-operated exploration well, drilled at the Vinekh prospect in Black Sea's Han Asparuh block off Bulgaria, has been assessed as dry, after encountering only non-significant natural gas shows, according to NewMed Energy, one of the partners in the license.
The well reached a final depth of around 3,230 meters below sea level. While gas shows were encountered in the target formations, they were assessed as non-commercial, according to the partnership.
The well is operated by OMV Petrom’s OMV Offshore Bulgaria, which is continuing well-site analyses.
Under the license, NewMed Energy’s NewMed Energy Balkan and OMV Offshore Bulgaria each hold a 45% working interest, while Bulgarian Energy Holding (EAD) holds the remaining 10%.
The partnership said it would provide a further update once the operator completes its evaluation.
The Vinekh prospect is located within Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea and forms part of the Block 1-21 Han Asparuh licence.
The partnership said a separate exploration well at the Krum prospect, which targets different geological units from those drilled at Vinekh, is expected to spud in the coming weeks.
Drilling of the Krum well is expected to take about two months with Noble Corporation’s Globetrotter I ultra-deepwater drillship, which drilled the Vinekh-1 well, as part of the agreement signed in mid-2025.
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The partnership noted that its assessment of the Vinekh well results constitutes forward-looking information under securities law and is based on partial information received prior to completion of the operator’s final analysis.
Han Asparuh is an exploration block located in the western Black Sea in Bulgaria, south of the Neptun Deep block in Romania and has an area of 13,712 km2 with water depths slightly below 2,000 m.
