The inaugural two-day Adriatic Oil & Gas Summit (AOG) has started today, March 10, 2015 in Budva, Montenegro.

Held under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy of Montenegro and the Ministry of Economy and Energy of Albania, the summit will focus on the offshore oil and gas investment opportunities within three countries in particular: Montenegro, Croatia and Albania.

It was organized as a platform for regional ministries and government departments to demonstrate the opportunities available in the offshore oil and gas sector. It comes at a moment when regional countries are trying to find investors for oil and gas exploration in this part of the Adriatic.

“The timing of the Adriatic Oil & Gas Summit is ideal in enabling us to engage with the international oil and gas community,” Montenegro’s Deputy Minister of Economy Vladan Dubljevic said. “The Summit offers all companies the perfect opportunity to enter the market at the start of our journey.’’

The summit programme will feature senior government and industry speakers and will examine the latest opportunities, challenges and identify solutions for the development of the oil and gas sector in the Adriatic region, as well as covering the regulatory framework, financing, infrastructure and service requirements to support the development of the industry.

Day one of the summit is reserved for the discussions on the development of offshore blocks in Croatia and Montenegro and up-to-date development plans for Albania’s hydrocarbon resources.

Day two will take a broader perspective, analysing the geopolitics of the region, and the Western Balkan’s role in the transit of oil and gas resources into the EU. The second day of the summit will also feature strategy insights into the development of a regional oil and gas industry from analysing and quantifying resources, latest technology for extraction, robust and sensitive management of the environment, as well as regulatory and financial frameworks for a maturing sector.

Day two will start off by covering the production lifecycle for exploration from the seismic and ultrasound evaluation of potential reserves to updates on the latest drilling technology and developing offshore E&P with the most stringent adherence to environmental protection and risk mitigation. Representatives from Spectrum, PGS and EMGS will be leading this session.

The summit ends tomorrow with The Wider Picture session that will be exploring transportation developments and Turkey’s role as a significant transit country for hydrocarbon resources coming into and through the Western Balkans.