In October 2015, the drilling of exploratory well LIRA 1X was completed. The work led to the discovery of an important gas field located in the deep sea Romanian offshore in Trident block (EX-30).

Starting with 2011, the geological exploration works in EX-30 Trident are carried out by the Operator of the joint-venture, LUKOIL Overseas Atash B.V. (100% subsidiary of Public Joint-Stock Company LUKOIL), in compliance with the Concession Agreement concluded with the Romanian Government. Currently, Romgaz share in the project is 10%, Lukoil owns 72% and PanAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. 18%.

The water depth within the block ranges from 300 to 1,200 meters. The block has an area of 1,006 km2. The Lira-1X well is located at a distance of about 170 km (90 miles) from the coast, where the depth of the sea is about 700 meters. The well was drilled to a depth of 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) from the semi-submersible drilling rig TransOcean Development Driller II. The well was temporarily abandoned for further evaluation of the Lira gas discovery.

Tags: Lukoil, PanAtlantic Exploration