Speaking in The Netherlands, Rama claimed Albania was on the brink of a major oil discovery that would be an energy game changer in Albania as well as in Europe.
An oil well in the Kucova oil field of Albania. Photo: Nensi Bogdani/BIRN
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Monday in the Netherlands that Shell “might” have made an important oil discovery in the south of the country.
“There are signs that show that we might be near a very very important discovery of oil and gas that will have a large impact not only on the future of our country but will play a role even in the future of energy in Europe,” Rama said.
Rama is currently visiting the Netherlands where he met Prime Minister Mark Rutte as he attempts to win over EU heads of states for assigning a date for Albania’s first EU membership talks.
Belinda Balluku, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, confirmed that Albania “will be able to produce important quantities of oil and gas.
“Shell is now working in Albania since some time, and we are impatiently waiting for the results of the exploration, which will be a large discovery,” Balluku said. “It will be 40 per cent gas and 60 per cent oil,” she added.
Both Balluku and Rama acknowledged that Shell “has not provided” data or details on what may be expected. However, both seemed convinced it would be positive news.
They were referring to the Shpirag oilfield situated in southern Albania around the limestone mountain of Shpirag. The field was first explored in 2001 by Occidental Petroleum, which decided not to try to develop it for exploitation.
Since then, however, Shell and other investors have spent tens of millions of euros on drilling four test wells which runs to more than 6,000 meters deep with the hope of results.
Manas Petroleum, another company, drilled a test well known as Shpirag 2 back in 2012, followed by Shell, which took over in 2016 with test wells Shpirag 3 and 4.
In its last press release on the issue in 2019, Shell confirmed the potential discovery of oil there, but added that it had not yet decided whether to invest more in exploitation or not.
Oil was first discovered in Albania almost a century ago, while the last major discoveries dating six decades ago, with only minor fields discovered since.
Following the collapse of communism in 1991, several foreign companies spent large sums searching for oil on shore and off shore in Albania – without much result.
For years, it was believed that the previous discoveries of shallow wells, just a few hundred meters deep, were migratory flows from a much larger source, situated much deeper.
Both Manas and Shell have said they believe Shpirag oilfield is an equivalent in its geological setting to the large Val D’Agri and Tempa Rossa fields in Italy which were discovered in 1989 and currently produce some 50,000 barrels of oil per day.
Source link: balkaninsight.com
