Montenegro launches first bid for oil and gas exploitation and production

“For a small country as Montenegro, where each project in the energy sector is essentially a cross-border one, careful management of resources is a key issue of the future success in economy and sustainable development”, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Đukanović underlined at a ceremony on the occasion of launching the first bid for awarding concessions for oil and gas exploitation and production activities in the offshore of Montenegro.

The conference, which took place in Budva on Friday, brought together representatives of the largest companies in gas and oil exploration and production, financial institutions and diplomatic corps.

Montenegro has prepared its first tender for the oil and gas exploration and production which the Government of Montenegro announced on 7 August 2013. The tender is open until 28 February 2014, PM Đukanović stated.

“Our goal is to provide uniform and transparent conditions for all participants in the tender. Through the legal infrastructure, which clearly defines rules of managing this natural resource, we wish to provide permanent benefits for the Montenegrin society as a whole,” Prime Minister Đukanović emphasised.

Montenegro and its neighbouring countries, in the Prime Minister’s words, have great potential in this area.

“The existence of the basic requirements for oil and gas production in the waters of southern Adriatic basin has been proven. It can be also directly confirmed by the fact that the production is ongoing in Albanian, Croatian and Italian parts of the basin,” he explained.

Montenegro’s energy goals coincide with the goals of the Energy Community. According to them, Montenegro defined its energy policy until 2030, adopted the Energy Development Strategy until 2025 and signed the Declaration of Accession to the Energy Charter in late 2012, PM Đukanović reiterated.

Montenegro has no access to natural gas sources and it has not yet developed its gas infrastructure and market. For that reason, the country is highly motivated to establish a connection to the natural gas regional system, PM Đukanović noted.

“Montenegro, within of the Energy Community, takes part in activities related to the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline project , which is supported by the recently announced tender for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the offshore in Montenegro, “ he concluded.

energjia.al, 05.11.2013