Oil major Shell has been picked by Bulgaria to complete oil and gas exploration off its Black Sea coast.
According to reports, the country plans to sign a contract by the end of next month as the region looks to lower its reliance on imports from Russia.
In April the Balkan country opened tenders for two offshore blocs, Silistar and Teres.
Shell was the only bidder for a five-year exploration permit at Silistar in an area which covers 7,000 square km.
The company, which yesterday said it was pulling out of its programme off the cost of Alaska, could invest up to $21million in seismic surveys of the block.
Silistar is near to a block in Romanian waters where Austria’s OMV has said it could produce up to 84 billion of cubic metres of gas.
Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said: “This is a very serious success for us and one of the most important steps towards diversifying our gas supplies.”
Both Totral along with OMV and Spain’s Repsol are expected to start drilling for oil and gas in Bulgaria’s biggest offshore block, Han Asparuh, between February and May.
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