Cabinet approves of the concession of the right to prospect oil and gas deposits in the south of Moldova to Frontera Resources International, the USA.
The Cabinet took this decision at the request of the Ministry of Environment of Moldova taking into account that the company had won the international tender for geological prospecting of carbohydrates in the southern region and their further exploration. The contract with Frontera Resources International is expected to be signed before the end of this year.
The winner is supposed to clear up whether there are gas and oil depots in the southern part of Moldova fenced by the Ungheni-Basarabeasca line northward and, if there are, develop them. Frontera Resources was vying for the concession with Overseas Minerals Corporation, the UK, which was considered by the tendering committee as not-fitting the requirements. The right to the prospecting is conceded for 5 years, while the right for the exploration is conceded for 40 years and can be prolonged once for 5 years. Thus, the concession term does not exceed 50 years. The concessionaire is to pay to Moldova at least 1% of its revenue on sales of carbohydrates and has to start the works in 2 years after the signing of the contract at the latest. The concession aims at increasing and diversifying Moldova’s energy sources and reducing the country’s dependence on the import of energy.
To date, Valiexchimp has been the only company to develop oil and gas depots in the south of Moldova. According to its Director General, the activities of Frontera Resources International will have no impact on the company since the area to be explored is beyond the territory explored by Valiexchimp. (InfoMarket/Business World Magazine)