TIRANA, March 1 – Porto Romano Oil, an Albanian-owned joint stock company operating in the oil sector, has purchased 30,000 tonnes of crude oil from state-run Albpetrol company for $4.5 million, at an average of $24 per barrel, the Public Procurement Agency has announced.
The low price was affected by the reference crude oil Brent price standing at a record low.
Porto Romano Oil, headquartered in the Porto Romano oil and gas area outside Durres and fully owned by BOLV- OIL operator, was the only bidder in the tender held on Feb. 9 when it bid to purchase the whole amount at 70 percent of the Brent crude oil price. The bidder was offered a $3.53/barrel in transportation and warehousing costs.
Porto Romano Oil, a company established in 2006 operates in the oil and gas and construction sector.
Brent crude prices on November 9 when the tender was held hit a 12-year low of $30.32 a barrel.
Last year, state-run Albpetrol oil company which has been scheduled for privatization, sold 100,000 tonnes of crude oil to an Albanian operator for around $31 million (€28.7 mln) at 72 percent of crude oil Brent price of around $66 a barrel at that time.
The huge amount was purchased by “TPD-Trading Petrol & Drilling” an Albanian operator part of the Sulaj Progres Group which also operates in real estate development and entertainment industry.
With international oil prices standing at a record low, the Albanian government has postponed privatization plans on the country’s state-run Albpetrol oil company.
In early 2013, the Albanian government invalidated a staggering bid worth €850 million on the privatization of Albpetrol oil firm after the winning bidder, Albanian-led Vetro Energy consortium, failed to pay the financial guarantee leading to the finalization of the contract. Albpetrol currently runs only 5 percent of the oil wells, some 1,200, while the remaining overwhelming majority is managed by foreign companies on concession contracts. The company’s assets are estimated at €95 million.
