Montenegro searching for oil in the Adriatic Sea

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Montenegro will have preliminary data on the quality and potential of oil and gas fields in its southern coastal area by the end of September, it was announced on Wednesday from the Montenegrin government.

Near the southernmost Montenegrin city on the Adriatic, Ulcinj, the Italian-Russian consortium Eni and Novatek began drilling the first exploration well at the end of March.

"The concessionaire Eni-Novatek for oil and gas exploration in the Montenegrin seabed has so far drilled a well to a depth of 4700 meters and should reach 6000 meters by the end of September, where entry into the field zone is expected," Marko Perunović, State Secretary for Energy and Mining, told reporters in Podgorica, emphasizing that preliminary data indicate there is reason for optimism.

Perunović also pointed out that the concessionaire is acting responsibly in all aspects to protect the environment, which is why, he claims, they are working significantly slower and more carefully.

"This costs us a little more time, however, at the beginning, we defined that the economy and ecology can go hand in hand, which is why everything is being done more carefully," said Perunović.

Montenegro has so far concluded two contracts for oil and gas exploration and production.

The first contract was signed in 2016 with the Italian-Russian company "Eni and Novatek" for four exploration blocks for a period of seven years, and the second a year later with the Greek company Energean, for two blocks with the same exploration duration.

NGOs dealing with ecology have strongly opposed the drilling of the Montenegrin seabed, while the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism assured them that they would monitor all environmental parameters, the state of the marine ecosystem, and act at the first sign of its disruption.

"We will do this not only for the preservation of the Montenegrin coast but also for neighboring Croatia. Any potential oil or gas spill, or anything else twenty kilometers from our coast, can also affect neighboring Croatia due to sea currents that go in their direction," State Secretary in the Ministry of Ecology Danilo Mrdak previously told Radio Free Europe.

The first well, whose results are expected soon, is located near Ulcinj, 28 kilometers from the coast, while the second will be about 18 kilometers from the coast and its depth will not exceed one and a half kilometers.