Work has begun to lay pipelines for Romania's Neptun Deep Black Sea gas project, one of the European Union's most significant energy deposits with an estimated 100 billion cubic meters of recoverable gas.

Once it starts producing gas in 2027, Neptun Deep will double Romania's gas production and likely turn it into a net exporter at a time when the EU is weaning itself off Russian gas. It will also supply Germany and Moldova, with other European countries like Slovakia also showing interest.

The project is a joint venture between OMV Petrom, majority-controlled by Austria's OMV, and Romania's state-owned Romgaz.

"It gives Romania a much bigger stage in the European Union, and this is what these big energy projects can do," OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere said at a ceremony on Monday to mark the official start of the pipeline work.

"I think it's a reminder to us that when you have access to indigenous natural gas here in Europe, that we should develop it and make sure that we can bring it into the market."

Two ships, owned by Italy's Saipem, will lay 160 kilometres (99 miles) of pipeline from offshore wells to land, where works on a gas metering plant are in full swing.

OMV Petrom senior executive Cristian Hubati said laying the pipeline will last two months while the plant will be finalised by summer.

The ships, Castoro 10 and Castorone, are among a fleet of 50 vessels which will be in the Black Sea this year helping build Neptun Deep.

"That we have begun installing (the pipeline) shows we are on schedule to delivering this project," Romgaz CEO Razvan Popescu said.

The company has six deep water wells left to dig. Parts of the production platform are being built in Indonesia and Italy and are scheduled to arrive in the Black Sea later this year.

The Black Sea, crucial for shipments of grain, oil and oil products and home to offshore drilling projects, is shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as Russia via Crimea.

Production: George Calin, Anna Lubowicka/Reuters