As of 1 January 2024, company Vermillion Zagreb Exploration, together with the Vukovar Srijem county and Croatian natural gas transmission system operator Plinacro, will begin the exploitation of natural gas at two wells – Berak and Ceric 1.
These wells were drilled following exploration activities conducted by the company since 2019 at it exploratory area in the Vukovar-Srijem county.
CEO of Vermillion Zagreb Exploration Jeff Davies said that the company will continue with exploration activities within its concession areas. After the mentioned two wells, the plan is to commission Opatovac 1 and Novi Jankovci wells, where exploration activities are now being carried.
In June 2016, Croatian Government has signed hydrocarbons exploration and exploitation contracts with two companies (Croatian INA and Canadian Vermillion Energy), but the contract with Nigerian Oando PLC has not been signed yet. In late March 2015, the Government adopted a decision according to which INA was awarded a license for one exploration area (Drava 2), Oando PLC also got license for one area (Drava 3), while Vermillion Zagreb Exploration, a daughter company of Canadian Vermillion Energy, received licenses for four exploration areas (Drava 4 and Sava 8, 9 and 10). The exploration and exploitation licenses are awarded for a maximum of 30 years, with the total exploration period of five years.
In total, the Canadian company has been approved to search for oil and gas on 2.35 million hectares in five exploration fields, making it the largest oil and gas explorer in the country. The first exploratory wells in the mentioned fields were drilled in June 2019 in the Vukovar-Srijem county at the Ceric and Berak locations.
