TIRANA (Albania), May 2 (SeeNews) – Albania's ministry of energy and infrastructure said on Thursday it has signed a revised oil exploration agreement with Shell Upstream Albania, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, for blocks 2-3 in the country's southern region.
The revised agreement ensures profit for Albania from the first day of production of oil in blocks 2-3 and clarifies a series of procedural matters in order to have safer investments in the future, Rohan D’Souza, country manager of Shell Upstream Albania, said in a video file posted by the ministry on Facebook following the signing ceremony.
The agreement will help strengthen cooperation between the government and Shell and support further modernization of the hydrocarbon sector in Albania, energy minister Belinda Balluku said.
Shell has been active in Albania since 2012 and is expected to start operations in block 4 later this year, D’Souza noted, adding that Shell works with over 200 local sub-contractors and employs around 300 people, directly or indirectly, in the areas where it operates.
In February, the energy ministry said it signed an oil exploration agreement with Shell Upstream Albania for block 4, in southern Albania. Shell will invest an estimated $42.5 million (37.9 million euro) over seven years in the search for new oil deposits, divided in three phases, the ministry said at the time.
Albania has estimated oil reserves of 220 million barrels and natural gas reserves of 5.7 billion cubic metres. The Patos-Marinza oilfield near the southwestern city of Fier is the largest onshore field in continental Europe.
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