Croatia Launches International Tender in Adriatic Sea

Croatia launched an international tender for oil and gas exploration blocks in the Adriatic Sea on Wednesday. The tender includes 8 block areas in the north, 21 in central and southern Adriatic.

"We have been underexplored for the last 20 years, particularly offshore," Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak said during a conference with several international oil and gas companies.

According to Reuters, gas reserves are more likely to be found in the north.

The tender will run for seven months. The government is expected to award concessions in early 2015. 

Exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in the Croatian Adriatic has been a priority of the government since it took office. To prepare the grounds for the tenders, the relevant legal framework was passed. Norwegian company Spectrum Geo was then contracted to acquire 2D seismic data off the coast of Croatia. The government also presented the financial model, which includes payment of fees and product sharing. Pursuant to this model, the state's share should be 60% of gas and 54% of oil.

As previously reported by Natural Gas Europe, each block will be between 1,000 and 1,600 square kilometres. According to industry players, the deposits should resemble the ones found in Italy.