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Croatia’s INA acquires a pressure of 55 bars. where the works will be carried out within
According to the text of the tender, the
seven days.
20% stake in exploration price is not the only criterion for getting logistics base in the port of Bar, where
The consortium has established a
the job, and all the criteria are listed in the
concession in Egypt procurement documentation. most of the material that will be used
during drilling has been delivered.

Croatian oil and gas company INA said it is In November 2018, the consortium
acquiring a 20% working interest in a new PKN Orlen signs futures completed seismic tests as part of the
onshore exploration area in Egypt. exploration programme and the collected
INA will explore the East Damanhour contract on oil supply with data was processed in 2019. In early
exploration block with two partners, German 2020, geomechanical testing of soil was
Wintershall DEA and Egyptian Cheiron, Exxon Mobil completed to determine the properties of
which hold a 40% working interest each in the seabed.
the concession, INA said in a press release. Poland’s listed refiner PKN Orlen signed a Podgorica has decided to award
“Egypt is a key foreign market when it futures contract on the delivery of 1mn tonnes concession contracts for the production of
comes to Ina’s exploration and production, of oil with the US oil company Exxon Mobil, hydrocarbons at 13 offshore blocks with
where we have been present for a long the Polish company said on March 9. a total area of 3,191 square kilometres. So
time. By entering this new concession Ina The contract provides for the delivery of a far, it has signed two contracts – with a
is expanding its portfolio in Egypt and total of approximately 1mn tonnes of crude consortium between Eni and Novatek for
creating requirements for new production oil for the Polish company’s refineries in the exploration of four blocks and with
of hydrocarbons after exploration activities Poland, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. Energean Oil & Gas for the exploration of
are completed. That is in line with our “We are continuing the process of two blocks.
development plans where new projects like diversifying oil supplies. Over the past three
this should replace the company’s reserves, years, we have successfully strengthened
and maintain production,” Sandor Fasimon, relations with the world’s largest oil Montenegro to set up
INA’s CEO, said in the press release. producers, including Saudi Aramco, and
Wintershall DEA is the operator of the secured new supply routes, for example from strategic oil reserves
exploration licence. West Africa,” Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek
said in a statement. Montenegro’s government plans to form
The deal, which was approved by the A futures contract for the purchase of strategic reserves of petroleum products that
Egypt National Gas Company (EGAS) American oil comes on the back of Orlen’s would be used in case of market disruption,
and the country’s ministry of petroleum, analysis of how various types of crude oil public broadcaster RTCG reported.
includes a three-year exploration licence square up with the technological capabilities Currently, Montenegro has no
and a 20-year production licence in case of of the company’s refineries. mechanisms to secure oil reserves.
commercial discovery. “The purchase of light and sweet crude To do that, the government is drafting
Wintershall DEA plans to start the oil, which is WTI (West Texas Intermediate), a law on the security of oil deliveries that
exploration programme with the first three increases our yields. [The oil] has very good should be adopted in the third quarter of
planned wells in 2021. density and sulfur content parameters [to 2021.
produce] large amounts of so-called white The government is obliged to adopt
products such as gasoline or diesel,” the such a law to meet EU requirements by the
company said. end of 2023.
Tender for construction supplies of crude oil on the basis of long- several towns – Bar, Lipci, Kotor and Bijelo
Montenegro has storage capacities in
Currently, Orlen’s refineries receive
of Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas term contracts with suppliers from Saudi Polje. However, they are in poor condition
and need significant repair works.
Arabia and Russia, as well as spot deliveries,
interconnection opens e.g. from the North Sea, as well as Angola or
Nigeria.
Serbia’s Ministry of Finance Section for Orlen’s stock inched up 0.6% to PLN67.06 INA to invest €530mn in
Contracting and Financing Programmes from on March 9. Year-to-date, it has gained
EU Funds has opened the tender for the works 16.2%. Rijeka refinery upgrade
on the construction of the gas interconnector
Serbia-Bulgaria in the territory of Serbia. Croatian oil and gas company INA said on
The estimated value of the investment is Eni-Novatek to start March 9 it plans to invest HRK4bn (€530mn)
€85.5mn, and it will be financed from EU in the upgrade of its refinery at Rijeka in a
pre-accession funds and a loan from the offshore drilling in project that should be completed by the end
European Investment Bank (EIB), while the of 2023.
remaining funds have been secured by Serbia Montenegro within a week The project envisages construction of a
and Serbian company Srbijagas, as reported heavy residues processing plan and should
earlier. A consortium of Italy’s Eni and Russia’s improve the manufacturing scope of Rijeka
According to the tender documents, Novatek has completed the final preparations refinery, increasing the share of profitable
the works include the construction of a for the first exploratory oil and gas drilling “white oil” products in its output.
two-way main gas interconnector MG10 offshore Montenegro, the capital investments “The construction of a plant for the
Nis-Dimitrovgrad in the territory of Serbia, ministry said in a statement. treatment of heavy residues is the largest
between the natural gas systems of Serbia The consortium was awarded a individual investment project of INA in
and Bulgaria, as well as the construction concession deal in 2016. the Republic of Croatia. By continuing
of four measuring-regulation stations and The Topaz Driller rig that will perform work on this strategic project and the
accompanying facilities. The gas pipe will be the drilling headed to Montenegrin waters continuous implementation of the New
around 109 km long, with a DN700 size and on March 7 and should arrive at the site Direction programme, we have shown

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