The Ministry
of Energy and Industry, acting through the National Agency of Natural Resources
(AKBN) has announced the opening of available onshore Blocks
4 and Dumre with deadline tomorrow July 15, 2015. The above process of the
applications is open in accordance with the “Petroleum Law”, No.
7746, date 28.07.1993, which authorizes the Ministry to enter into a Production
Sharing Agreement (PSA), for exploration, development and production of oil
& gas in the territory of Albania.
In specific,
the PSA based on Law No. 7746 dated 28 July 1993 “Petroleum Law (Exploration
and Production)”, as amended. Other prevision are Law No. 7928 “On Value Added
Tax”, as amended; Law No. 8976, dated 12 December 2002 “On Excise”, as amended;
Law No. 9946, dated 30.06.2008 “On the sector of natural gas”; Decision of
Council of Ministers No. 547, dated 09.08.2006 “On Setting-up the National
Agency of Natural Resources”; Law No. 9975, dated 28.07.2008 “On national
taxes”, as amended.
Therefore, in
regard it can be state that the legislative framework in Albania guaranties
considerable incentives to attract international petroleum companies and thus
stimulate petroleum exploration in the country, and gives enough flexibility to
the contractors for negotiating the contracts. The Government’s objective is to
negotiate terms with the petroleum industry, which are fair and balanced,
bearing in mind the usual risk associated with exploration and the State’s
legitimate right for revenues as owner of natural resources. At the same time
based on the fiscal law the Albanian Government pursue to encourage the
development of small and marginal discoveries.
Passing in
the downstream in the last period the sector has seen the legal acts No
71/2014, dated 07.10.2014 “On some amendments to Law no. 8450, dated
24.2.1999, “On the processing, transportation and trading of oil, gas and
their by-products”, adopted. As well as the Law No 183/2013 of 28.12.2013
“On an amendment to the Law 7811 of 12.04.1994 “On the approval with some
amendments of the Decree No 782 of 22.02.1994 “On the fiscal system in the
hydrocarbons sector (exploration – production)”.
In more, the
preparations for the approximation of the third Energy Package are at finale
stage. Regarding the Oil Stock obligation, as regulated by Article 9 of Law No
8450 of 24.02.1999 “On the processing, transport and trade of oil, gas and
their by-products”, as amended, 50 Orders of Minister of Energy and Industry
were issued on 30.12.2013, based on the average selling reports of 2012
prepared by wholesale trades company.
Upon the
Order of Prime Minister No 233 of 2.12.2013 “On establishing an
inter-institutional work group for the review of the legal and institutional
framework on keeping and managing the oil, gas and their by-products safety
reserves”, a work group was set up to prepare the legal amendments for the full
transposition of the Council Directive 2009/119/EC of 14 September 2009
imposing an obligation on Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil
and/or petroleum products.
The quality
of oil products which is consumed by the internal market have to be according
to EU standard, since 2011 for Gasoline and Diesel. There are two Decision of
Council Ministers (nr. 147, dated 21.03.2007 and nr. 781, dated 14.11.2012) by
which the Standard of oil products are obligated to be according to EU standard
(Gasoline – SSH EN 228, Diesel – SSH EN 590, and the sulfide content of certain
liquid fuels have to be according to Directive 1999/32/EC).
For the
short upcoming future, the strategies being prepared see the Draft National
Energy Strategy prepared by a work group set up by the Order of Minister of
Energy and Industry No 29 of 17.01.2014. The new Strategy aims to define the
main challenges, goals and actions for the period 2015 – 2030. The draft
Strategy shall take into account the construction of TAP Pipeline, as well; Draft
amendments to Law No 9946 of 30.06.2008 “On Gas Sector” are being prepared in
order to transpose the Third Energy Package.
For the next
years hydrocarbon sector will be focused in modernization of the existing
refinery in order to increase the real refining capacity and the quality of
by-products which will go to the internal market have to be according to the
Albanian legal framework. Increase the monitoring role of the Albanian
authority in order to guaranty the transparency, competition and fair of the
hydrocarbon activity in Albania as well as increasing the efficiency for
exploitation and using of the hydrocarbons domestic natural resources. Development
the gas sector under the Third Energy Package.