Ljubljana, 08 April (STA) - In the latest development in the controversial gas extraction project in Petišovci (NE), UK investor Ascent Resources has obtained the permit for a planned gas processing plant. However, according to Delo, things are not looking good for the investor in the separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing.
The decision by the Environment Agency (ARSO), which the paper says was issued on 28 March, comes after the original permit for the refinery, issued in 2015, had been successfully challenged by environmentalists.
However, key for the refinery, which would be allowed to process 280,000 cubic metres of natural gas and a tonne of oil per day, will be the ongoing environmental impact assessment determining whether the UK company can step up extraction via hydraulic fracturing.
The refinery permit is still subject to a potential appeal by Alpe Adria Green, but the NGO's president Vojko Bernard told Delo it would be hard to challenge it, since the investor has been insisting the refinery did not entail a stepping up of extraction via hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
ARSO made the decision that a separate permit procedure for hydraulic fracturing was necessary in March and is being challenged by Ascent Resources, which is also threatening to sue the government for damages.
Operating in a joint venture with Geoenergo, which is co-owned by the Slovenian state-controlled energy companies Petrol and Nafta Lendava, the UK company claims it has invested more than EUR 50m in the project so far. It holds 75% interest in the project, Geoenergo's concession for the Petišovce gas however expires in 2022.