The US oil company joined a Black Sea exploration agreement between Brazilian energy company Petrobras and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in a farm-in deal earlier this year. As part of the ultra-deep drilling project, Petrobras and TPAO started oil drilling in the Black Sea last month with a Norwegian oil exploration platform, Leiv Eiriksson. Speaking on Tuesday at the annual 9th Turkish Oil and Gas Conference in Ankara, Elwyn Griffiths, the vice president of the ExxonMobil exploration division, said they expected to “utilize a world-class drillship with superior ultra-deepwater technology in the Turkish Black Sea.”
Energy Ministry officials in Ankara said on Tuesday the new drillship is a clear sign of the high interest Exxon is showing in the project. ExxonMobil and Petrobras each have a 25 percent stake in the project while TPAO holds the remaining 50 percent. The TPAO believes that the Black Sea has some 10 billion barrels of oil.
