Croatia Invites Bidders for Adriatic Oil and Gas

The Economy Minister, Ivan Vrdoljak, on Monday announced a public tender for a concession to explore Croatia’s Adriatic coast for oil and gas.

In April, the ministry will offer investors 29 sections of the Adriatic. The ministry, which has set up a special hydrocarbons agency to manage the tender process, estimates that earnings from the exploration will be ten times higher than originally forecast, with up to 3.8 billion kuna (500 million euro) annually predicted under the new model.

“We have done analysis and offered a competitive price compared to other countries in the region,” Vrdoljak said. First exploration operations are expected to start in about a year’s time, with the first extraction for gas and oil not starting for at least five years.

“We estimate that for every field (29 in total) two platforms, which cost around $40 million US each, will be needed. This is a great opportunity for our industry and shipyards,” the minister said.

A Norwegian seismic imaging services company, Spectrum Geo2, completed 2D seismic surveys of oil and gas reserves along 15,000 kilometres of Croatia’s Adriatic sea last year. Data of all results from the seismic imaging will be made available to all interested parties this month.

Continue reading on: