For the first half of 2014, royalties to the Albanian government were $47 million (15 percent of revenue) compared to $45 million (17 percent of revenue) for the comparable period in 2013.
TIRANA, Aug. 13 – Canada-based Bankers Petroleum almost doubled its profits to $52 million in the first half of this year on higher sales and oil prices, the company said in a statement. Bankers Petroleum, which operates the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield in southwestern Albania and is the country’s largest foreign investor, exporter and taxpayer, reported net income of $52.2 million in the first half of this year compared to $27.2 million during the first half of 2013, registering a 92 percent increase.
Average oil production for the first half of this year was 20,272 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up 16 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, oil sales rose by 16 percent to 20,036 bopd.
For the first half of 2014, royalties to the Albanian government were $47 million (15 percent of revenue) compared to $45 million (17 percent of revenue) for the comparable period in 2013.
Bankers Petroleum says it has now received written assurances from the Albanian government that a financial offset will be offered to mitigate the impact of fiscal changes implemented in 2014. A formal agreement is expected to be finalized in the third quarter.
Canadian-based Bankers Petroleum posted record profits of around 62 million dollars in 2013, almost double compared to the previous two years on higher production and oil prices, the company said in its 2013 financial results.
Since 2004, Bankers operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza and Ku谶a heavy oilfields under a 25-year concession contract with the Albanian government. The Patos-Marinza oilfield is the largest onshore oilfield in continental Europe, holding approximately 5.4 billion barrels of original oil in place. The Ku谶a field has 297 million barrels of original-oil-in-place.
Albania’s oil exports in the past eight years have increased by more than 30 times, emerging as one of the key exports, mainly due to huge investments by Canadian-based Bankers Petroleum which since 2004 operates and has full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza and Ku谶a heavy oilfields under a 25-year concession contract with the Albanian government. A study carried out by Open Data research centre shows that Albanian oil exports reached around 1 million tonnes, worth 56.7 billion lek (Euro 396 million) in 2012, up from 41.7 billion lek in 2011 (Euro 291 million) in 2011 and a mere Euro 13 million in 2005 just before the signing of the first concession contracts in Albania’s oil sector.
However, due to the poor quality of Albania’s crude oil and lack of processing industry, Albania meets almost all of its oil needs with imports. The Albanian oil is exported and mainly processed as bitumen, which is used in road reconstruction.
Albania’s oil exports are 2.4 times higher than the amount of oil Albania imports. Albania imported around 432,000 tonnes of oil in 2012, down from 457,000 tonnes in 2011 and 484,000 in 2010, a trend which reflects rising fuel prices and global crisis impacts which have slowed down the Albanian economy.
“Efforts to process domestic oil and launch it into the domestic market have failed even because of poor management of the state-owned Albpetrol oil company which supervises the Patos-Marinza oilfield,” say Open Data experts.
Albania is estimated to hold oil reserves reaching up to 400 million tones with the Patos-Marinza oilfield in southwestern Albania is the main producer. The oilfield, considered one of the largest in Europe has a surface of 44,000 hectares and annual production capacity at 7.7 million barrels of oil.
