ZAGREB, January 26, 2019 – Environmental Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said in Split on Friday the planned exploration of hydrocarbons in the Dinaric Alps would not affect the development of Croatian tourism.
“Such exploration should not and there’s no reason for it to harm tourism,” he said responding to questions from the press.
He met with representatives of Šibenik-Knin, Zadar, Lika-Senj and Karlovac countries in Šibenik on Thursday, when it was officially announced that a public tender will be advertised soon for licences for oil and gas exploration in the Dinarides.
Ćorić said initial exploration and exploitation in the first stage, “which isn’t invasive at all, lasts five to seven years” and that “the whole process will include clear communication with local communities.”
He said some local communities did not want such exploration because they wanted to develop rural tourism, yet that there were others which, “after the preliminary findings, would certainly assess that exploration makes sense.”
Ćorić’s ministry said yesterday local government “has the biggest direct benefit from hydrocarbon exploration.”
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