Research on oil in Montenegro will soon be undertaken

The searches have lasted for more than two centuries but Montenegro is so close to discover oil and gas. Ship for seismic research of the consortium “Eni-Novatek” will sail into our part of the Adriatic sea on 1st November.

If there happens to be existence of oil and gas on our coast, income of 62-68% will go to Montenegro. That money will be saved for future generations.

Director of the Italian company “Eni”, Agostino Maccagni, agreed to talk about that business exclusively for “TV Magazin”.

“We’re here because we had already analyzed the data that existed in Montenegro and we believe that there’s potential but we’ll decide as soon as we see the most recent data. Our research will begin on 1st of November and they will last 45 days. The ship will move slowly, 4-6 nautical miles speed, and it will draw the device for the emission of sound impulses. The sound will bounce off the seabed and the computers on the ship will process the seismic data. That signal will be analyzed by the super computer and we’ll get the clearer picture of everything that’s down there“, said Maccagni.

Director of the Greek “Energean Oil & Gas”, Antonios Nikolopulos says that seismic research will at the end of this year or at the beginning of the next one.

The minimum numbers of drill holes is defined by the contract the companies signed with the Government of Montenegro.

The first drill hole will be outside Montenegrin territorial waters. To be more precise, 23 km away from the coast.

NGO “Green Home” fiercely opposes this type of research. They think that the citizens are not familiar with the consequences it may provoke.

„Our slogan is wild beauty. Where did you see wild beauty together with oil platforms? We believe that the citizens don’t really understand what conducting this kind of research means for our small, closed sea and what consequences this might have not only for the biodiversity but also for the health of people”, warns Nataša Kovačević from “Green Home”.

Any search for oil is in contravention to the first article of the Constitution which defines Montenegro as ecological country. However, oil companies wouldn’t agree.

“In this case, risk of geo-physical research is minimal. We’ve established all the risk reduction measures in accordance with all the newest and most advanced regulations and international standards for the protection of nature”, says the Director of the Italian company.

Branislav Glavatović, geophysics engineer, thinks that there’s risk of oil spill during the drilling.

“But that happens rarely. The occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico we all remember happened due to very high pressures at such great depths. That happens really rarely”, says Glavatović.

Many oil spillages are related to “Eni” but, according to Maccagni, the situation is different now.

“We have had hundreds of drill holes in the last decade and not even a single oil spill. The technology we use is safe and we assure that it won’t allow any spill. Even if that happens, we have everything we need to react fast. Norway allowed us to produce oil in Barents Sea, the most sensitive environment in the world. That’s how much we improved”, says Maccagni.