17 March 2015, News Wires – Albania plans to soon put oil and gas acreage up for offer as it attempts once again to sell off state player Albpetrol, according to a report.
Revealing the sale plans, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday that 13 onshore and offshore blocks can be explored for oil and gas, Reuters reported.
Shell and Calgary, Canada-based Petromanas Energy already operate a well offshore Albania and have said test flows found oil and gas, but are yet to establish its production capacity.
Rama also has plans to privatise the country’s state oil company as soon as this year.
A previously announced sale to a private buyer was cancelled two years ago by the then-ruling Democratic Party government.
However, Rama said that he wants to try again and will begin offering its blocks for oil and gas exploration.
“Since the very first day, it was clear to us Albpetrol was an anachronism and a hybrid that could not meet the challenges of the future,” Rama said.
Rama reportedly added that the government was determined to “secure a favourable regime for the exploration and development of oil and gas”, including stabilising fiscal clauses for the duration of contracts.
Albpetrol is an upstream company only, having sold its oil refinery four years ago.
The company owns oil and gas deposits and has onshore and offshore output-sharing contracts with some foreign companies.
– Upstream
