The Croatian government approved on Wednesday
awarding six licenses to three companies to explore for oil and gas in the
northern Drava river basin and in the country’s east.
The government will
award four licenses to Vermilion Zagreb Exploration, a unit of Canadian-based
energy group Vermilion. Oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA-R-A], co-owned by
Croatia and Hungary's MOL, will get one license as will Nigerian-based
Oando.
The onshore oil and gas exploration tender comprised six blocks
varying between 2,100 and 2,600 sq km in size.
Documents posted on the
government’s website indicated that INA plans works totaling around 22.2 million
euro ($24.7 million) over the first and second exploration phases. Oando’s
exploration costs are budgeted at over 44 million euro for the two phases while
those of Vermilion Zagreb Exploration total over 18.8 million euro.
In
January, Croatia awarded 10 offshore oil and gas exploration licenses for blocks
in the Adriatic Sea.
The on- and offshore oil and gas tenders - alongside
participation in the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline project and the planned
construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Adriatic island of Krk,
are part of efforts to develop Croatia into a regional energy
hub.
According to the latest data available on the website of Croatia's
energy regulatory agency, HERA, a total of 28.7 billion kWh of gas were
delivered to the market in 2013 with domestic production contributing 13.1
billion kWh.