FT: Croatian oil & gas: an Adriatic game-changer?

Croatia’s Adriatic coast is best known for its beautiful mountain scenery, clear blue sea and dozens of charming Venetian-influenced towns and cities. But the former Yugoslav country’s government hopes it will become equally well known for what may lie beneath those pristine waters – billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas.

Last month, Croatia launched its first-ever offshore hydrocarbon licensing round for 29 blocks totalling 36,823 sq km. It hopes the tender – open for seven months – will draw in $2.5bn in investment over five years, reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil and gas, lift the sluggish economy – and help build strategically-located Croatia as a regional energy centre.

“Croatia can become the energy hub in the region,” Barbara Doric, president of the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency, tells beyondbrics. “Though petroleum exploration has a long tradition in Croatia, this is the very first Croatian offshore licensing round. Croatia has a proven hydrocarbon province [offshore] which was largely underexplored historically.”
MORE