Neptun Deep Production Platform Installed in Black Sea, 2027 Startup Held

OMV Petrom and Romgaz have completed installation of the Neptun Alpha production platform for the Neptun Deep project in the Black Sea, in water around 120 metres deep. The structure weighs 16,500 tonnes and stands more than 225 metres in total height.

The lift was carried out by the Saipem 7000, described in the account as the third-largest semi-submersible crane vessel in the world. The support structure was pinned to the seabed with 8 piles, each more than 2 metres in diameter, according to Cristian Hubati, the OMV Petrom executive board member responsible for exploration and production.

Both the jacket and the topsides were built by Saipem, at its Arbatax yard in Italy and its Karimun yard in Indonesia.

Drilling is past the halfway point. Christina Verchere, chief executive of OMV Petrom, said 6 of the 10 development wells are finished, along with installation of the 160 km pipeline connecting the field to shore. Construction of the Tuzla gas measurement station and its control building is advancing after the pipeline work closed out.

The two partners say the project remains on schedule for production to start in 2027 and will contribute to energy security for Romania and the region. Razvan Popescu, general director of Romgaz, said offshore work continues on the subsea infrastructure at the Domino and Pelican Sud fields, with well completion and commissioning targeted for 2027.

The full production scheme covers 10 wells across the Pelican Sud and Domino fields, 3 subsea production systems, one offshore platform, a gas pipeline to Tuzla, and a metering station.

Neptun Alpha is fully automated and operable remotely, with no permanent crew on board; a dedicated support vessel able to house up to 90 people is under construction. That design choice sets the operating model for the field: crews mobilise for maintenance campaigns rather than living offshore.

Hubati said the companies are moving at a sustained pace on execution, with safety the main priority.

The partners are described as the largest integrated energy producer in southeastern Europe, in OMV Petrom's case, and the largest producer and main supplier of natural gas in Romania, in Romgaz's case. The platform installation marks a further stage in Neptun Deep after earlier offshore work.

The project is landing while Romanian equities run hot. The Bucharest Stock Exchange remains first in Europe, up 42% so far this year and 67% over the past twelve months. Hungary is up 33.1% this year, Poland 31.3%, Austria and Norway 28.8% each, Greece 27.4% and Bulgaria 22.9%. Retail participation has widened alongside it: equity funds doubled their investor count in a year, from 148,000 in July 2025 to more than 310,000 in July 2026.

Elsewhere in the Romanian energy complex, Rompetrol Rafinare shares have gained 130% in a month. Premier Energy guided to EBITDA of EUR 150 million to EUR 160 million, chief financial officer Peter Stohr said in a September 8 interview, and the company said its EUR 700 million acquisition of the Evryo distribution network will push group leverage toward three times EBITDA.