Novatek and Eni find no oil, gas offshore Montenegro - report

Podgorica, February 1 - Neftegaz.RU. Russia's Novatek and Italy's Eni have discovered no petroleum or gas deposits at the exploration well offshore Montenegro between Bar and Ulcinj, SeeNews reported, Montenegrin media quoted a government official as saying.

The state secretary for energy & mining at the capital investments ministry, Marko Perunovic, said:

• We have not received an official report from them, but in a presentation their management definitely told us that porosity and permeability are the basic characteristics of the site, that they are very unfavourable and that they are not what was expected
• They consider that well to be a dry hole

Eni and Novatek will look at the migration path of the findings to see if that data and analysis can be used to search for oil and gas in some other locality, Perunovic added.

In December, the Montenegrin government extended by 6 months the deadline for the completion of the 1^st phase of the project for exploratory offshore drilling for oil and gas by Eni - Novatek tie-up.
The consortium started exploratory drilling in March 2021 and initially planned to complete it within 4 to 6 months.

Perunovic noted:

• The concessionaire is obliged to provide us with the final results in the next 6 months
• Let us not be too pessimistic, but I think that as far as the well on which the work done is concerned, the results will not be good in terms of potential production

Eni and Novatek carry out the exploratory oil & gas drilling under a concession contract signed in 2016 for the development of exploration blocks 4118-4, 4118-5, 4118-9 and 4118-10 with a total area of about 1,200 sq. km located in Montenegrin territorial waters.

Novatek and Eni each hold 50% interest in the concession.