Exxon, Total bid for gas drilling in the Black Sea

SOFIA — US oil giant ExxonMobil, France’s Total and British Melrose Resources have filed bids for deep-water gas drilling in the Black Sea, Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev said Thursday. The three companies filed preliminary bids and must now submit binding offers by July 4, Dobrev told an energy forum in Sofia. The ministry will then choose a winner by the end of July, he said. The tender is for the Khan Asparuh 1-21 block, which spans 15,000 square kilometres off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast near the border with Romania. Between 40 and 80 billion cubic metres (1.1-2.3 billion cubic feet) of gas have already been found in Romanian waters just 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) north of the Bulgarian field, he added. “Such quantities could cover Bulgaria’s gas needs for the next 15-20 years,” Dobrev said. — AFP