Chevron to divest Romania shale licences, quit Europe exploration
Tom Brown
24-Feb-2015
LONDON
(ICIS)–Chevron intends to pursue the divestment of its shale
gas exploration concessions in Romania this year after
finding them to be financially unattractive, the US-based oil
and gas giant said on Tuesday.
Following similar moves out of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine
in recent years, the decision represents Chevron’s
disengagement from shale gas exploration prospects in
Europe.
“We are not pursuing shale gas exploration licences in
Europe,” said a company spokesman.
After completing the drilling of one exploration well in the
Barshad play in northeast Romania and carrying out a
two-dimensional seismic survey across two of its three
concessions in the southeast of the country, Chevron has
decided not to pursue further exploration
in the country and to divest the licenses.
“This is a business decision which is a result of Chevron’s
overall assessment that this project in Romania does not
currently compete favourably with other investment
opportunities in our global portfolio,” the spokesman
added.
The move leaves Chevron as the latest firm to abandon
once-promising assets in eastern Europe, following Eni,
Talisman Energy, ExxonMobil and Marathon Oil’s decisions to
quit exploration in Poland.
Poland’s push on attracting firms to develop its shale gas
ran aground in the face of legislative delays, unwieldy
bureaucracy and the “indolence” of public authorities,
according to the country’s Supreme
Audit Office (NIK) at the time of Eni’s decision not to pursue further
shale gas exploration in the country in early 2014.
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