The first results of exploratory drillings in the Montenegrin part of the Adriatic Sea, performed by a consortium of Italian Eni and Russian Novatek, should be revealed by the end of January.
In late December, Montenegrin Minister for Capital Investments Mladen Bojanic said that initial analyses are very optimistic and that the
parameters followed during the exploratory drilling show the presence of oil reserves, adding that, In case the commercially feasible deposits are found, it would take few years to prepare the site for commercial exploitation.
Earlier this month, the Government announced that it has extended the deadline for the completion of the first exploratory phase of the project for hydrocarbon drilling in the Adriatic Sea led by Eni/Novatek consortium. The deadline was pushed back by six months.
In March 2021, the consortium of Italian Eni and Russian Novatek has launched the first exploratory oil drilling activities in the sea area between Bar and Ulcinj, some 28 kilometers from the coast. The activities are expected to take four and a half to six months.
In May 2014, three consortia submitted bids in the tender for awarding the hydrocarbon exploration and production concessions in the Adriatic Sea. Tender referred to 13 concession blocks with overall area of 3,000 km2. The bids were submitted by the consortium of Marathon Oil Corporation (USA) and OMV (Austria), consortium of Eni (Italy) and Novatek (Russia) and consortium of Energean Oil & Gas (Greece) and Mediterranean Oil and Gas (England). In February 2016, the concession contract for oil and gas exploration in the Adriatic Sea has been signed with ItalianRussian consortium consisting of companies Eni and Novatek, which includes two exploration periods that last four plus three years, while the contract with Energean for two offshore blocks, 4219-26 and 4218-30, was signed in March 2017. Energean is still in the process of finding a partner for the project.
