AA - ExxonMobil Corporation announced Tuesday it signed a deal with Brazil's Petrobras to partake in the consortium with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to explore oil in the Black Sea. ExxonMobil announced that under the terms of the deal, it purchased 25 percent share of rights over 11,500 square mile area off the shores of Sinop, Ayancik and Carsamba, with Pertobras holding 25 percent and TPAO owning a 50 percent share in the consortium. The deal needs to be ratified by the Turkish government to take effect.
In April 2009, state-owned petroleum companies, Türkiye's TPAO and Brazil's Petrobras, signed an agreement for exploring oil in the Black Sea. Recently the massive deep-water oil platform "Leiv Eiriksson", which set off from Norway months ago, passed through the straits and reached Sinop, to explore oil at a depth of 6,000 meters with a daily rental cost of up to USD 1 million.
The platform will stay in the Black Sea for five years. Turkish officials are very hopeful about drilling operations in the Black Sea which is believed to have huge underwater oil and natural gas reserves. Recent seismic researches estimate a 10-billion barrel oil reserve in the Black Sea.