The Croatian government recently announced the launch of international tenders for the exploration and development of domestic oil and gas reserves, but the exploitation of the richest deposits - those undersea located in the very south of Croatia - could be blocked until a final agreement is reached on the sea border between Croatia and Montenegro. Above, it says "Vecernji list".
That agreement, as stated, will directly affect the distribution of potentially large revenues from the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits located in the border area.
Ministry of Economy: We will consider all initiatives
The Montenegrin Ministry of Economy has not yet received a proposal from its Croatian colleagues to announce a joint competition for the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in the submarine border zone, but, as its representatives announced, it is ready to consider all initiatives.
The Government of Croatia believes that there will be no problem with the development of the site in the southern Adriatic
In any case, as it is added, this is another indicator of the quality of project implementation in Montenegro, in terms of the legislation required for this pioneering project in the Balkans.
Montenegro, as it was announced, plans to soon announce a tender for oil and gas exploration in the sea, and the most renowned companies in the world responded to the previous advertisement for expressions of interest, among them the Norwegian Statoil, the Russian Gazprom Neft, the French Total, the Hungarian Mol and the Italian Edison.
Government of Croatia: We will offer Montenegro to call for a joint tender
The Government of Croatia believes that there will be no problem with the development of the site in the southern Adriatic.
As "Večernji" reports, the Ministry of Economy is planning to propose to Montenegro a joint tender for exploration and exploitation.
"That would be logical because the value and attractiveness of the business would increase, so that we would all benefit from it. It could also be an incentive to finally resolve the border issue at sea through an agreement," said the interlocutor of "Večernji list" from the Croatian Ministry of Economy .
The demarcation line will affect the division of undersea oil resources
Although the exact amount of reserves can only be assumed, from the publicly available data, as stated by "Večernji" about the research carried out so far, it can be concluded that they are considerable.
The Ministry of Economy of Croatia is planning to propose to Montenegro the announcement of a joint tender for exploration and exploitation
The Americans then conducted a series of seismic surveys in the Croatian and Montenegrin parts of the Adriatic and made about 10 test wells.
One of the most successful, as "Večernji list" writes, was the Juzni Jadran 3 well, located about 30 miles northwest of Budva.
"The presence of oil was discovered at that location, but the quantities were estimated to be commercially unprofitable. However, the key element in that assessment was the price of oil at the time, which ranged from 20 to 40 dollars. Today, its price is around 100 dollars, and in recent years often exceeded USD 120. With today's price, it is reasonable to believe that the oil field near the South Jadran 3 well would be commercially profitable, but the problem is that it is located in the immediate vicinity of today's temporary demarcation line, which was established by the interstate agreement between Croatia and Montenegro since 2002".
Based on that agreement, as "Večernji list" writes, Croatia established control over the land border at Prevlača, but a temporary border regime was introduced at sea.
It is now clear that the demarcation line would also affect the division of undersea oil resources.
"Reinterpretations of Chevron's seismic data of the South Jadran 3 deposit, which was carried out by the British company Star Petroleum, showed that the deposit is significantly larger than previously thought, but also that it consists of two structures. The smaller one is below the well, and the larger one is further west towards the Croatian territorial sea. We cannot say with certainty how much these reserves are, but considering where they are located, solving the border issue is a necessary prerequisite to explore and possibly prepare for production," said Stanko Kadija, a retired INA geologist who worked for years on research of Adriatic hydrocarbon deposits.
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