Crude oil extracted from exploratory wells in the municipality of Samac, in the north of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), will be exported to Serbia from 2022 to the system of the company NIS (Naftna Industrija Srbije), owned by Russia’s Gazprom.
This was confirmed by NIS, which through its company “Jadran Naftagas” in Banja Luka has a concession for the exploration and use of crude oil and gas in the entire territory of Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two BiH entities.
This is the second time in six months that the entity government has given a license for oil exploitation in that area. In June of last year, the company “Jadran-Naftagas” was approved for trial extraction of five million liters of crude oil.
The Ministry of Energy and Mining of the RS did not answer the question about how the sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine will affect the granted concession, given that Gazprom Neft is under European and United States (U.S.) sanctions, so it is denied access to the European Union (EU) and U.S. markets.
What is in the decision of the RS Government?
In the decision of the RS Government, published in the entity’s Official Gazette, it is stated that the company “Jadran – Naftagas” from Banja Luka is obliged “to pay compensation for the amount of crude oil taken in the amount of 5% of the income generated by using the taken mineral raw material”.
The concession contract for the exploration and use of crude oil and gas was signed in 2011 for a period of 28 years between the Government of the RS and the company “Jadran-Naftagas”.
In the contract, as stated at the time, “Jadran – Naftagas” undertook to invest 229 million dollars in the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas on the territory of the RS, based on the adopted Economic Justification Study.
The municipality of Samac and the locals are looking for a share of the profits from the oil
The Mayor of the Municipality of Samac, Djordje Milicevic, said that a meeting will soon be held with representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the RS with the aim of amending the concession agreement on oil exploration and exploitation.
He is asking for part of the income from that exploitation, given that the well is located on the territory of that Municipality.
“I expect that we will find solutions through that meeting because these are financial resources that mean a lot to the Municipality of Samac, especially since it is a municipality that belongs to the ranks of less developed municipalities,” Milicevic said, Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
