The company Jadran-naftagas began drilling the first well in the country in search of oil on Thursday in the village of Obudovac near Šamac in northern BiH, reported Glas Srpske on Friday.
The joint company owned by the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) and the Russian company Zarubežnjeft has received a concession for the exploration and utilization of oil and gas in the territory of the Republic of Srpska and has conducted seismic and other surveys over the past two years that have shown potential for finding oil and gas.
Jadran-naftagas is expected to invest $229 million in the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits, of which $40.7 million is for research and $188.3 million for exploitation. The ceremonial start of work on the first exploratory well, which will be 2,800 meters deep and will employ around 300 workers, was attended by leading figures in the government of the Republic of Srpska, NIS, and Zarubežnjeft. “This is the first well not only in RS but also in BiH, and with this, we have demonstrated our ability to realize a project that was initiated with our Russian partners two years ago,” said Dodik.
