SARAJEVO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - The government of Bosnia's
autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation has invited bidders to apply
for oil and gas exploration licences covering an area estimated
to contain up to $700 million in deposits.
The Federation, which makes up Bosnia alongside the Serb
Republic, is offering investors the opportunity to search for
hydrocarbon deposits in four blocks in the Dinaridi and Panonian
basin regions, covering an area of 4,591 square kilometres.
Interested investors can place their bids by May 27, with
the winner expected to be picked a month later.
Local experts who conducted research prior to 1992 say
deposits in the region's south, located at a depth of 4,000 to
8,000 metres, may contain up to 500 million tonnes of reserves,
and estimated the northern deposits at around 70 million tonnes.
The Federation government revived a plan to award a licence
in the Dinaridi area which was put on hold after Shell
Exploration, part of Royal Dutch Shell, pulled out of
exploration in Bosnia in 2015.
(Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Jan Harvey)
