The Petroleum Systems from the Western Black Sea Basin, Romania

Although oil production has a long history in Romania, the offshore discoveries from the Western part of the Black Sea are still relatively newly developed and with further potential to be revealed. To find the best places for new wells, as well as making new oil field discoveries, it is very important to understand the petroleum system of the area. If the elements of the petroleum system are well understood, then the potential of the Black Sea will become bigger, as the complexity of the area will be acknowledged. Two major petroleum systems were discovered in the area, the thermogenic system, and the biogenic system. The thermogenic system is corresponding to the shallow area of the Black Sea, where current productive fields are, while the biogenic system is corresponding to the deeper area, currently being in the exploration stage. The purpose of this article is to present both petroleum systems from the Black Sea Romania, their elements, the evolution they had, and the major differences between the two.