SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), October 16 (SeeNews) – Shell Exploration Company has shown interest in rekindling its relationship with the government of Bosnia's Federation with the aim of conducting oil and gas exploration on the entity's territory, local media reported.
Shell has scheduled a meeting with representatives of the Federation government in Sarajevo on October 23, during which the company is expected to negotiate their intent to return to Bosnia, news daily Dnevni Avaz reported on Friday.
In September 2015, Shell Exploration Company exited an earlier initiative to conduct geological and geophysical research to determine the oil and gas prospects of the Federation.
Shell said at the time that following an internal portfolio review and in light of the oil and gas environment, it would not seek to extend its deal with the Federation. The agreement was extended in 2013 and 2014 to enable the parties to potentially negotiate a petroleum production licence but such negotiations never started and the deal expired.
Since then, the Federation has been trying to restart gas exploration on its territory. According to estimates made by the geology institute of the Federation, the territory of the Dinaric Alps could potentially contain deposits of about 1 billion barrels of oil.
The Federation is one of the two autonomous entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.