Exploration, production pace faster in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vesna Karovic Maricic
Dusan Danilovic
Veselin Batalovic
Branko Lekovic
University of Belgrade
Belgrade
Oil and gas production has declined in Serbia in the last 3 decades due to depletion of existing reserves and low level of exploration. Domestic production makes up one fifth of Serbia's energy needs, so the country is highly dependent on imports.
Such an unfavorable situation in the Serbian petroleum sector has gradually changed since 2009, however. In 2009, GazpromNeft of Russia bought 51% of the shares of Petroleum Co. of Serbia (NIS). Production in 2010 amounted to 8.76 million bbl of oil equivalent, an increase of 30% compared with 2009.
In order to increase its reserves and production, NIS-GazpromNeft has invested in many exploration and production projects in northern and central Serbia and in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, in 2011 the Jadran-Naftagas joint venture has been formed for conducting exploration projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to the latest estimate, it is considered that the potential of recoverable resources at the territory of Serb Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 73-87 million boe. The oil and gas exploration results in Bosnia and Herzegovina justify further exploration and indicate the realistic possibility of finding commercial accumulations.
This article reviews recent and planned oil and gas exploration and production activities in Serbia and in the Serb Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balkan oil and gas background
The Republic of Serbia, a country in southeastern Europe and on the western Balkan Peninsula, belongs to the group of countries that are not major petroleum producers or consumers.
Serbia's crude oil proved reserves of 77.4 million bbl rank 76th in comparison in the world, and natural gas reserves of 1.7 tcf rank 65th by 2010 estimate.
Despite being small on a world scale, Serbia's resources have a certain regional importance. Also, according to the data on current and future exploration, the potential is promising. Serbia has, particularly due to its geographic position, an important role in the future of energy supply in Europe.
The Serbian petroleum sector has been owned by public enterprises for decades. The state company NIS-Naftagas, which started oil and natural gas exploration and production in the 1950s, was restructured in 2005 into the public enterprise Petroleum Co. of Serbia (NIS) and became one of the largest petroleum companies in southeastern Europe.1
Liberalization of the energy market in the last decade and the planned integration of the Serbian energy market into the European Union energy market have attracted important foreign investments in Serbia's oil and gas sector, including GazpromNeft's controlling stake in NIS.
Investments in new improved oil recovery technologies and better management halted the continuous decline in oil and gas production in 2009. Planned production is 30,000 boe/d in 2011 compared with 24,000 boe/d in 2010.2
NIS-GazpromNeft, to reach its goal of increasing oil and gas production, has many projects under way in northern and central Serbia and is expanding into Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to its long-term strategy, company aims to triple current production by 2020 in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is also highly dependent on imported petroleum products, but it has a processing capacity in two refineries, large stock tanks, and a modern sales network with a number of gas stations. The infrastructure provides a framework for favorable exploration results.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina long has been considered a country with a high resource potential. According to the latest estimates, the potential of the Serb Republic in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 73-87 million boe that could support production of as much as 15,600 boe/d.4
For those reasons, the NIS and Neftegazinkor, a subsidiary of GazpromNeft, created the Jadran-Naftagas joint venture in 2010 to develop prospective sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The JV started a 3D seismic survey in 2011, will drill the first exploratory wells in 2012, and by 2014 plans to start production.
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