ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Ltd. and OMV Petrom SA have made a potentially significant gas discovery in the Black Sea, offshore of Romania.

"The exploration well encountered 70.7 meters of net gas pay, resulting in a preliminary estimate for the accumulation ranging from 1.5 to 3 trillion cubic feet (42 to 84 billion cubic meters)," OMV said in a statement on Wednesday, as cited by Bloomberg.

"This may be the biggest find in OMV's history," Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Roiss told reporters in Vienna.

The Domino-1 well, which is operated by the Exxon unit, is located in the Neptun Block, 170 kilometers offshore in water about 1,000 meters deep.

Drilling operations started at  the end of 2011 and the total depth of the well is expected to be more than 3,000 meters below sea level. OMV Petrom (SNP) and Exxon each hold 50 percent in the well.

It is too early in the data evaluation and exploration process to determine whether the Neptun block will ultimately prove to be commercially developable or not. The potential for first production is towards the end of the decade at the earliest, according to OMV.

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