Croatia

The Agip unit of Italy's state ENI SPA and Croatia's state-owned INA Group plan to develop more gas discoveries in the northern Adriatic Sea and start production at yearend 2004.

INAGIP, a nonprofit amalgam of Agip and INA, discovered Ivana, Ika, Ida, Annamaria, and Marica fields in 1973-85. They set the Ivana A platform and began producing gas through 86 km of pipelines via Garibaldi K field to Casalborsetti, northern Italy, in 1999. Production doubled with addition of the Ivana B, D, and E platforms in 2000-01.

The new $313 million project involves development of 700 bcf of gas reserves in the other four fields. Only Annamaria field laps slightly into Italian waters.

Development will entail drilling 18 directional wells, setting of nine platforms in 60 m of water, and laying 120 km of subsea pipelines, including a 43-km pipeline to Pola, Croatia, from Ivana field. Gross production should reach 70 MMcfd in 2005 vs. about 25 MMcfd in late 2001.

Completion of the project will establish a link for the future transport of gas to Croatia from Italy, ENI said.