April 19 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian government said on Wednesday it decided to transfer the exploration rights on Bulgaria’s offshore block 1-14 Silistar to Shell International Exploration and Development Italia from Dutch-based Shell Exploration and Production.
Shell International Exploration and Development Italia operates in Bulgaria through a local branch.
As a result of the transfer, the block’s name will be changed from Silistar to Han Kubrat, the government said in a statement following its regular weekly meeting.
The block spreads on an area of 6,893 sq km in the Black Sea.
Last week, the government said it has extended by 135 days the permit held by France's Total, Austria’s OMV and Spain’s Repsol to explore for oil and natural gas in the 1-21 Han Asparuh block.
In February 2016, the energy ministry said that Royal Dutch Shell has signed a five-year term contract for exploration for oil and gas in the Silistar block. Under the contract, the company will pay the government 4.9 million euro (excluding VAT) and invest 18.6 million euro ($19.94 million) in research activities, the ministry said at the time.
($ = 0.9329 euro)