Some of the numbers presented in this website may not be the most recent available

N AMER I S AMER I EUROPE I AFRICA I M EAST I ASIA-PAC I GLOBAL

HOME METHODS LOCATIONS STATISTICS ABOUT US

Brief history of the country

North Macedonia (the Republic of North Macedonia) is a land-locked country in the central Balkan peninsula bordered by Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. It is a candidate for EU membership.

Corresponding to Paeonia and part of Dardania, north of ancient Macedonia (now in Greece), it was was first settled by Thracians. Romans then established the Province of Macedonia in 146 BC. Later settled by Slavs it changed hands many times until the 14th century when it became part of the Serbian Empire and then the Ottoman Empire.

Led by Bulgarians, independence movements arose in the 1890s. An uprising in 1903 failed but in 1913, after the Balkan Wars, it was taken over by Serbia. Temporarily occupied by Bulgaria in World War 1, it was retaken by Serbia in 1918 before, in 1929, becoming part of Yugoslavia (called Vardar Banovina).

In World War 2 all the Balkan states were occupied by Germany. Bulgarians, supported by the Soviets, drove the Germans out of Macedonia in 1944. It joined Yugoslavia once again, as the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, until declaring independence in 1991 in a peaceful transition. Some disruption later occurred during the Kosovo War as a result of its Albanian minority.

It has reformed its industrial economy but remains relatively poor. It agreed with Greece (which owns another region called Macedonia) to adopt the name North Macedonia in 2018.

Oil and gas summary

North Macedonia has a central valley formed by the Vardar river bordered by rugged mountain ranges. Three large lakes (Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran) lie on the southern border with Albania and Greece.

Tectonically, North Macedonia lies in a zone between the Dinarides and the Hellenides tectonic zones which are the southern branch of the Alps extending south along the East coast of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

Most of land-locked North Macedonia is thus mountainous and has an uplifted, eroded and highly faulted sedimentary cover. Globalshift believes it is unlikely that any potential oil and gas resources could have survived its recent geological history.

North Macedonia has no history of production. Very few exploration wells were drilled in the 1960s and 1970s in the valley area but all were dry and abandoned. It is unlikely to achieve any production in the future.

Government

North Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy with an executive government composed of a coalition of parties from a unicameral legislature.

The Assembly is made up of 120 seats and the members are elected every 4 years. The role of the President is mostly ceremonial.

There is no government department specifically responsible for oil and gas resources.

Click for News