Bulgaria’s government approved the transfer of a 50% stake in the Han Asparuh offshore block from OMV Offshore Bulgaria, part of Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom, to NewMed Energy Balkan, a subsidiary of Israel’s NewMed Energy, according to SeeNews.

Following the transfer, OMV Offshore Bulgaria and NewMed Energy Balkan will share equal rights and obligations under the exploration permit, the government said in a statement after its weekly meeting.

The energy minister has been authorised to sign the additional agreement to the exploration contract within a month.

Han Asparuh is a 13,712 square kilometres exploration block in the western Black Sea, south of Romania’s Neptun Deep offshore project. Exploration began in 2012 with geological surveys and three wells, while a 3D seismic campaign was completed in May 2020 to identify drilling targets.

Last June, Bulgaria’s caretaker government approved the transfer of French energy major TotalEnergies’ 57.14% stake in the block to OMV Offshore Bulgaria, making it the sole permit holder, and extended the project’s exploration permit.

NewMed Energy, Israel’s leading energy partnership in the exploration, development, production and sale of natural gas and condensate, was founded in 1993 as Delek Drilling.