The Ministry of Economy has opened the first public tender for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Adriatic; the contest is open until 3rd November, and the first contracts with companies are expected to be signed in March 2015.
The competition was officially opened by the Minister of Economy Mr.Ivan Vrdoljak at a conference in Zagreb where were gathered representatives from 40 oil companies from the whole world. Among them are Exxon, Gazprom, Lukoil, Total, Ina, RWE, Edison, Turkish Petroleum, Hellenic Petroleum, Petroceltic, Hunt Oil, Nippon JP, and others.
The conditions for Croatia to become an energy hub in the region were created more than a year ago, said Minister Vrdoljak. The adoption of the package of new energy legislation, collecting of new seismic data for the open sea part of the Adriatic, the establishment of the Agency for hydrocarbons and other steps, he mentioned as well.
According to his words, Croatia has proved, during the tender’s preparation, that can be a reliable partner providing the security guarantees for investments.
The competition has 29 of research fields, 8 in the north and 21 in the central and southern Adriatic; the fields’ area fields are measuring from 1,000 to 1,600 square kilometers.
Source; Serbia Energy See Desk
