Exploration activities under the offshore oil and gas concessions that Croatia
plans to award should start in 2015 at the latest, local media reported, quoting
economy minister Ivan Vrdoljak.
On Monday, Vrdoljak said that Croatia
will open a data room on March 10 for companies interested in the offshore oil
and gas exploration tenders that are planned to be launched in
April.
Croatia has defined a total of 29 blocks for oil and gas
exploration in the Adriatic sea, ranging in size from 1,000 to 1,600 square
kilometres.
Two wells can be expected to be drilled in each of the blocks
and since the average investment per well is seen at $40-60 million (29.1-43.6
million euro) some $2.5-3.0 billion are expected to be poured into the first
exploration phase, which typically lasts for five years, news daily Vecernji
List reported on Monday, quoting Vrdoljak.
Vrdoljak also said that the
standard expectations are for the local economy to absorb 40% of the total
investment amount. He also anticipates lucrative deals for the local shipyards
and metal industry in the early years of exploration activity.