Consulant for “Albpetrol” arrives in Tirana

The Tender Evaluation Committee has not announced or made public any information regarding the bid evaluation process. Authorities say through periodic statements that they are still assessing the documentation.

Although the government is staying silent as never before in such an important tender, considerable elements are taking place out of the public’s eye. Top Channel has learned that the well known US Diplomat, Frank Wisner, has just arrived in Albania. Wisner has met high rank officials in Tirana as part of the US Patton Boggs Company that advised the Albanian government about the bid evaluations and the criteria for the sale of Albpetrol. The evaluation process is what is keeping in suspension the fate of the biggest privatization in Albania. The process doesn’t seem easy, especially in some two hot points related with the security of the financial guarantee and the fulfillment of the strategic criteria.

There are several questions for the consortium that offered the highest bid in this tender.

Although there is no official confirmation, confidential sources say that the guarantee was released by a bank that is not one of the best 50 banks in the world, as provided by the decision approved by the government. Secondly, besides the questions regarding the guarantee, there is another unclear situation about the strategic criteria that says that the winning company must have at least 5 years of international experience in the energy sector.

The public data for “Vetron” and “Silk Road” show that there might be suspicions on this criterion.

 In this unclear situation, the visit of Wisner in Tirana might not be casual. What is known is that the US adviser has a bonus each time that the tender is successful, and on this case, the fee is 2.5% of the sale, or 22 million EUR.

Top Channel