The Minister of Energy, Mines and Industry, and one of the serious candidates and future federal Prime Minister Erdal Trhulj announced that the contract with Shell for oil exploration could be signed by the middle of next year.
Trhulj explained that after two unsuccessful tenders for the selection of consultants for negotiations with Shell, eight bidsappearedon the third tender, of which five are valid. Two are from the UK, one from Austria or Germany, one each from Serbia and Romania, and it is one of Energoinvest with a Croatian company.
– We expect that we can choose three of these five valid offers on which will be negotiated. I hope that a contract with the consultant will be signed in this Government session and thatit will get a period of four to six monthsto conduct negotiations with Shell, all that all that needs to be approved by the Government and both Houses of Parliament. If all goes well, a contract with Shellcould be officially signed inthe middle of next year, said Trhulj.
The Minister Trhulj announces that the contract with Shell will be long-term – for a period of 30 to 50 years.
In the first year of the project realization it will be carried out site preparation, access roads, and geophysical surveys on the surface area of about 13,000 square kilometers on which the wellswould be executed.
For the mountainous area and areas such as Dinaridi it is a period, which can last from one to three years and only after that the exploitation can start.
– By the Law on Concessions we have determined that the concessionaire pays a fee for the occupied land. The idea was not that we achieve any significant revenue, but to force future concessions on faster action in order to freeas soon as possible a territory that was occupied for research and to locate the center of the future and the possible oildeposits, said Trhulj and added that oildeposits are expected to depths of four to eight thousand feet and only one such wells will cost 75 MEUR.
– If oil is found, benefit will be feltafter two to three years, said Trhulj.