The tender documentation for the new tender for oil and gas exploration in the Montenegrin seabed has been prepared and it is expected that the tender will be published by the end of this year, the Ministry of Economy told "News" officially.
The government department headed by Minister Dragica Sekulić explained that it is a research tender that is fundamentally different from the first tender for awarding contracts for exploration and production in the Montenegrin subsea, which was launched in 2013 and resulted in two concession contracts with the Italian-Russian consortium Eni-Novatek and with the Greek company Energeana.
"The goal of this research tender is the collection of seismic data, their processing and interpretation of the obtained results, all with the aim of increasing the level of knowledge about the potential of finding commercial oil and gas deposits in our seabed. This tender does not include hydrocarbon production rights. About this research tender we can talk about an intermediate phase, which will create the preconditions for the publication of a new, second tender for the award of a concession contract for exploration and production of oil and gas," explained the ministry.
As they add, that tender for research is intended for the so-called "multiclient geophysical companies" who will carry out seismic surveys of the Montenegrin seabed at their own expense and risk, and after conducting the surveys, the geophysical companies offer and sell the interpreted data to oil companies.
"The state is the owner of the data, and through the contract it gives companies the right to offer that data to a larger number of clients. The profit generated by this activity, after covering costs, will be shared between the state and the company in percentage ratios that will be defined by the Research Concession Agreement. When after the contractual period expires, those data and the right to their commercialization will exclusively belong to the state", said the Ministry.
From that government department, they point out that the state will generate significant income from the sale of that data, but the main benefit is that it will have more knowledge about the situation in the Montenegrin undersea.
"More precisely, we will get a more accurate picture of potential commercial oil and gas deposits, which will bring, in addition to existing, new oil companies to Montenegro," the ministry emphasized.
Tender documentation, which includes a contract model with all technical specifications and conditions, for the tender in question is complete and should soon be in the standard administrative procedure for adoption.
"Taking into account the dynamics of the procedures defined by law, it is to be expected that the tender for oil and gas exploration will be announced by the end of the year. The tender for exploration will include all blocks of the Montenegrin seabed that are not subject to the two existing concession contracts for exploration and production", they explained. are in the Ministry of Economy.
The first tender for oil exploration in the Montenegrin subsea was announced at the end of July 2013, and was closed on May 15, 2014. The tender related to 13 exploration blocks.
By signing the contract with Energean in March last year, the first tender for exploration and production of oil and gas was completed. Previously, in September 2016, the Government signed a contract with the Italian-Russian consortium Eni-Novatek for the exploration of four blocks in the municipality of Ulcinj.
Eni - Novatek completed recording for 50 percent of the allocated area
The Hydrocarbons Administration announced yesterday that from November 27th to December 3rd, 25D seismic recording of about XNUMX percent of the total area of the blocks awarded to the Eni - Novatek consortium was completed.
"During this period, 3D seismic surveying was carried out without any problems or delays. All measures of environmental protection and monitoring of environmental parameters are carried out in accordance with the Elaborate on environmental impact assessment. Licensed observers of marine mammals and turtles who are on board the Polar Empress during the specified period did not register any changes that could indicate a negative impact of 3D imaging on marine biodiversity," the announcement states.
From the start of 3D recording on November 19 to December 3, the 600D seismic survey ship Polar Empress completed recording about 50 square kilometers, or about 34 percent of the total area. Research for four blocks in Ulcinj will last XNUMX days.
Bonus video:
