Parliament debates for “Albpetrol” sale

Specialists from the Ministry of Energy considered the Patoz-Mariza oil field as the biggest in Europe.

“The existing geological oil reserves amount to 440 million tons per layer. These cannot be extracted technically, but the quantity is conditioned by the technologies that are used for extracting these reserves. The evaluations made until 2008 show that the extractable reserves are considered to 84 million tons. 53 million of these have been extracted until 2010, and 53 others will be extracted as oil reserves. If the Patoz-Morine sources have 250 million tons, it is the biggest oil reserve in Europe for lands without contact with the sea. From these reserves, 18 millions can be extracted”, the specialists say.

These data make the Albpetrol privatization debate even more interesting. The government proposed to sell 100% of the assets, but not the underground oil. The opposition opposed this variant and supported concession, arguing that the sale process lacks of transparency.

“The way you treat this national wealth is irresponsible and we, as opposition, fear that due to the lack of the strategic investor definition might end up as the privatizations that today are not effective, but have increased the living costs for the Albanians, such as CEZ. The opposition is very concerned about the way you bring this law, how you present this formula, and the way how this wealth is being administered. We will monitor the process day after day, and I guarantee you that there will be a pseudo-privatization, where the most precious national wealth, oil and gas, will go to the government’s clients”, declared the Socialist MP Arben Ahmetaj.

But the Minister of Energy, Nasip Naco, says that the government’s law not only guarantees an open and transparent race, but it also serves in the public interest. According to him, the agreement made by the Socialists in 2004 favored a foreign company for exploiting the oil wells and damaged the state budget.

“This company has paid 90 million EUR until 2008, which have directly gone to the state budget. This company has received everything for free, all the assets that we will sell today. But this company, with that agreement signed in 2004, has kept more than 80% of the oil wells in Albania. This was made by you, and now you say that this privatization is against the law, corruptive and abusive. From these, Albpetrol has received only pre-existing production, the one that has kept those workers for years”, Naco declared.

Another debate was the issue of the workers that will be fired after the privatization. The opposition is not satisfied by the solution given by this law. According to the government, some of the money will be used for covering the treatment of the fired workers.

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