INA has commenced the production of natural gas from the new well Ika B-1R-DIR by connecting to the existing production systems of the IKA B platform. The well is located in the Ika gas field, which is part of the North Adriatic exploitation field.
It has been successfully connected to the company’s existing production system in the northern Adriatic, ensuring the entry of an additional 150,000 m³ of natural gas per day into the Croatian gas system. The annual production from the new well will be nearly 55 million cubic meters, which currently accounts for almost seven percent of INA’s total gas production at sea and on land.
The new well is the result of INA’s activities that began in 2019 as part of the 'Development Program for the North Adriatic'. Its purpose is to define all potential locations for new drilling in the northern Adriatic, which would halt the expected natural decline in production across all three of INA’s exploitation fields where it is the operator: North Adriatic, Marica, and Izabela.
So far, three new wells have been drilled. Ika B-1R-DIR is the first to be put into production, and the second well, Marica-D-DIR, is expected to commence production in early April, with an anticipated daily output of around 40,000 m³ of natural gas. The third well, Irena-2, involves the potential construction of a new platform, a decision on which will be made after the realization of the entire program in the coming years.
The gas field development program in the Adriatic is one of INA’s largest investment projects, with a potential investment of around 1.5 billion kuna.
