Austrian oil company OMV, one of the ten largest global oil giants in Europe, will search for and extract oil and gas in Georgia, as a result of winning an open international tender, – Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava stated about it at the briefing held at the Government Administration today.

According to the Ministry of Economy, on June 22, 2020, the LEPL Oil and Gas Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia conducted an open international tender to obtain the General License for the Oil and Gas Resources on the Black Sea II and III License Blocks. OMV PETROM SA, the member company of OMV Group, was announced as the winner for the II License Block.

“This is proof that there is a transparent business environment in the country” – Minister said.

As Turnava notes, the company that won the tender will start drilling after the seismic studies. The Austrian company is linked to the discovery of a Domino mine in Romanian territorial waters worth $ 1.5 billion.

It is noteworthy that Georgia is the only country in the Black Sea basin where oil and gas works are not underway on the shelf.