Albania picks bids by Shell, Delek unit for oil exploration

NG Energy International

03/08/2015 16:56

TIRANA, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Albania has picked a venture led 
by Royal Dutch Shell  RDSa.L  and a company owned by Israeli's 
Delek Group  DLEKG.TA  to carry out onshore oil exploration 
projects, subject to final contract agreements, an official told 
Reuters on Monday. 
    Shell Upstream Albania BV and Canada's Petromanas  PMI.V  
will now negotiate with Albania's National Resources Agency to 
get the final go-ahead to explore in sector four of the country, 
southeast of their current drilling site at Shpirag. 
    Navitas Petroleum, controlled by Israeli's Delek, made the 
winning bid to explore the area of Dumre in central Albania. 
    The two successful bids followed more than two years of 
preparations by Albania to auction off more blocks, after it 
postponed the auctions of some onshore blocks because companies 
required more time. 
    The auction of offshore blocks was also delayed, because of 
Albania's dispute with Greece over the division of their 
continental shelf in the Ionian Sea. 
    Promising initial results from a well in Shpirag by the 
Shell-Petromanas partnership has increased Shell's interest in 
Albania and drawn international interest, despite low oil prices 
and the failure of previous exploration attempts in the country 
following the toppling of communism in 1991. 
 
 (Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by David Holmes) 
 ((benet.koleka@thomsonreuters.com;  +355 44 50 4878 Reuters 
Messaging: benet.koleka.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: ALBANIA OIL/EXPLORATION