PODGORICA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The deadline to bid for oilexploration and drilling rights for oil and natural gas off thesouthern Adriatic coast of Montenegro has been extended untilMay 15, the economy ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said it had pushed back the original Feb. 28deadline at the request of potential bidders who needed moretime to prepare their bids.
"Interested companies said they needed three months toprepare their bids from when the government adopts a law ontaxing the upstream hydrocarbon industry and defines theconcession model," the ministry said.
The government is expected to debate the law and concessionterms in an urgent procedure this month, the ministry said.
The tender offers the exploration of 13 blocks, covering anarea of 3,000 square kilometres.
In 2011, 15 international companies expressed an interest insearching for oil and gas in Montenegro as the Balkan nationmoves to lessen dependence on imports.
The government said concessions at locations that provepromising will be awarded for a period of 30 years.
The small Balkan country, which became independent in 2006,has no oil production but initial data suggests the nation mightone day have enough resources to cover its oil and gas demand.
The need for new energy sources is acute across the Balkans,a region that has lacked investment in capacity for nearly twodecades due to wars and political turmoil.
A joint venture between Russia's Neftegazinkor, a unit ofstate-owned Zarubezhneft, and Serbian oil firm NIS, has started exploring oilfields in Bosnia's Serb Republic.
Bosnia's other autonomous region, the Bosniak-Croatfederation, expects to start talks in late February with a unitof oil major Royal Dutch Shell on a concession for oilexploration.
Croatia also plans to publish in the first half of 2014tenders for gas and oil exploration concessions in central andsouthern regions of the Adriatic Sea and in the second half foronshore projects.
