The consortium uniting French Total, Austrian OMV, and Spanish Repsol, which was awarded a concession for oil and gas exploration in the Khan Asparuh Black Sea block in 2012, will invest a total of BGN 1 B – EUR 1 B, according to Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev.

Speaking Tuesday during a conference titled 'Gas Perspectives: First Regional Gas Conference', he made clear that the consortium would conduct planar and volumetric surveys of the deep-water block over the next few months.

Dobrev, as cited by money.bg, explained that the drilling was expected to start within three years.

He noted that the concession contract provided for the drilling of two wells at 5000 meters and 6000 meters, below sea level.

Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister pointed out that Block Teres block in the Black Sea had already attracted serious investor interest, with two European and one US companies buying concession documents over the past month.

Dobrev went on to say that the government would work actively to award exploration concessions for the Silistar and Sveta Marina blocks, adding that even if only one of the two yielded gas finds, the volumes would suffice to cover Bulgaria's energy needs for scores of years.