The largest Eastern European oil company OMV Petrom S.A. will extract oil and gas in Georgia following the contract signed between the Georgian Economy Ministry and OMV Petrom on Wednesday.

OMV Petrom S.A. will carry out works in the offshore exploration block that covers a total area of 5,282 square kilometers (2,032 square miles) for 25 years.

The company will carry out 2-D and 3-D seismic exploration works, and drilling will commence in the last phase of the project. The value of the drilling phase will depend on exploration results, Economy Ministry said.

Prior to the agreement, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with the CEOs of OMV Petrom S.A. and expressed readiness to support the project’s successful implementation.

The State Agency for Oil and Gas LEPL at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development announced an open international competition for the general oil and gas license encompassing the Black Sea’s license blocks 2 and 3 in 2020. OMV Petrom SA, a member of the large Austrian oil group OMV, won the license to operate in block 2.

The value of a similar project involving the exploration of the Domino well by Austrian OMV in Romania’s territorial waters is 1.5 billion USD.

Exploration work on the Black Sea is underway in Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. Exploration work has resulted in the discovery of large hydrocarbon wells in Romania and Ukraine. Bulgaria, where the company also operates, is close to a similar commercial discovery.