Seven oil companies have licenses revoked

TIRANA, May 23 – Seven oil companies that had had operations suspended last March have had their licenses revoked, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy stated. Last March, the companies had had their licenses suspended for 30 days following inspections by the Central Technical Inspectorate which found that the companies did not fulfill criteria on oil storage capacity in their wholesale activity. The ministry said the involved companies– Autolubrifikant, Tiramol, Albania Airlines & Jet Fuel Supply, Beusal, Pilinci Enterprise Co, Orient and Jemishta– worked in the oil and gas processing, transport and trade. Last March, four other oil companies had their licenses revoked due to trading crude diesel which did not meet legal and technical standards. The inspections came after a working group was set up to investigate the oil companies operating in the country following allegations by some companies of unfair competition from the sale of crude oil. The inspections which covered 44 wholesale fuel companies and 909 retail petrol stations, came after a massive fraud scheme– involving the gasoline and diesel distribution system, selling mixed premium products with inferior byproducts that could have damaged thousands of vehicles and cost consumers millions– was revealed. The probe has led to charges for 13 men, including both public officials and businesspeople. The joint working group, ordered by Economy Minister Nasip Naco, is composed of specialists from the Central Technical Inspectorate and the General Directorate of Metrology, who are inspecting fuel companies and petrol stations during a one-month period to observe if the oil companies meet required the quality and quantity standards. The check conducted by the Central Technical Inspectorate came following allegations by some companies of unfair competition from the sale of crude oil. Oil importers said the change by only 1 percent in the percentage of sulphur allowed by the government decision meant a 15 percent change in cost. “This creates inequality on the market, meaning that if the companies import fuel with a suphur percentage at only 1 percent above the standard, they profit not less than 120 USD/ton,” said the Association of Hydrocarbon Companies earlier. Oil prices continue to remain at their highest historical levels in Albania, even through the beginning of this year with diesel and petrol sold in some petrol stations at 170 lek/litre (1.7 dollars) despite a slight decrease of 5 lek/litre. Experts explain the causes of the current situation by citing the soaring prices in international markets– where prices are reported to have reached 100 dollars per barrel. The depreciation of the national currency, lek, against the US dollar and the Euro is another factor. The high tax burden, with excise tax currently at 37 lek/litre, VAT at 20 percent, the newly increased carbon tax, port taxes and transport expenditure, all contribute to the final high price of oil.