Oil Exploration off Montenegro Triggers Fears for Environment, Tourism

Projections suggest Montenegro might have enough oil and gas out at sea to cover its own needs. It signed a concession contract in 2016 and officials say the first exploratory drilling might take up to six months.

But local residents and environmental activists are worried.

"There is no vision," said Natasa Kovacevic of the NGO Green Home.

"Short-term benefits remain more important to the government than the development of a green economy," she told BIRN. "Montenegro has no capacity to monitor and control oil exploration, so one incident could be devastating for our sea."

'Oil platforms on the horizon' Civic activist Mustafa Canka near marine in Ulcinj, Montenegro. Photo:BIRN/Samir Kajosevic

Eni and Novatek have a 30-year concession for oil and gas exploration in the Adriatic Sea under a deal signed in 2016 with the government then led by the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS.

The DPS lost power in December after three decades of uninterrupted rule, but the new government has embraced the oil and gas exploration.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic said late last month that the exploration was in line with all environmental safeguards. His government, he said, would pursue a green economy, but also diversify in order to reduce its dependence on tourism.

Tourism regularly accounts for roughly a fifth of Montenegro's economic output. Revenues reached roughly one billion euros in 2019, though the COVID-19 pandemic slashed that figure by some 83 per cent in 2020.

Ministry: Earthquake risk factored in

Ulcinj civic activist and journalist Mustafa Canka warned of the risk of drilling for oil and gas in a coastal area known for its seismic activity.

An...