July 29 (SeeNews) - A consortium of Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek has completed geophysical and hydrographic research in two small oil and gas fields offshore Montenegro, the Montenegrin hydrocarbons agency said.
The acquisition of data on the two fields, at depths of 69 and 96 metres, lasted for seven days and was completed within the planned timeframe, the government agency said in a statement on Friday.
"The study aimed to determine the physical and mechanical characteristics of the soil of the two zones where, as it is presumed at this moment, exploration drilling will be carried out in 2020," the hydrocarbons agency said.
The study was conducted by the MAC Centaurus platform supply vessel using the geomagnetic method and sonars, aiming to investigate the physico-magnetic characteristics of surface sediments up to a depth of 30 metres below the seabed.
In September 2016, Montenegro signed a concession contract with the Eni-Novatek consortium for the development of exploration blocks 4118-4, 4118-5, 4118-9 and 4118-10 with a total area of about 1,200 square kilometres located in Montenegrin territorial waters. Novatek and Eni each hold 50% stake in the concession.