TIRANA, Jan. 17 – The Albanian oil market is being introduced to new foreign companies as the Albanian Competition Authority has opened calls for interested parties on a transaction that includes corporations from Hungary, the Netherlands and the Bermuda Islands. The purchasing party, Mol Crossroads BV, is a company headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, established under the Dutch law and wholly owned by Mol Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company, which is the parent company of the Mol Group.
Mol Group’s main activities include the exploration, production and refining of crude oil, supplying of refined petroleum products – both wholesale and retail – production and marketing of petrochemicals, exploration and production of natural gas and natural gas transmission in Hungary.
The selling company, Chevron Global Ventures Ltd, is a company established under the Bermuda islands legislation. The object of the transaction is Chevron Khazar Ltd, a company established under the Bermuda islands legislation, wholly owned by Chevron Global Ventures Ltd and part of the Chevron Corporation. Chevron Khazar Ltd conducts oil operations in Azerbaijan.
In its announcement, the Albanian Competition Authority stated that “from the examination of the documentation, it results that the transaction is in accordance with Articles 10 and 12 of the Law, according to which the sustainable change of control must be carried out and the criteria of the annual turnover must be fulfilled, respectively. This transaction is subject to the authorization by the Competition Commission. ” While the Mol Group is not present in Albania through its subsidiaries, according to the Albanian Competition Authority the company has sold oil in Albania and meets the turnover criteria.
The aforementioned articles provided through the law of competition in Albania, stipulate that the turnover of the participating enterprises altogether in the international market must amount to over 7 billion lek and that the turnover of at least one participating company in the domestic market is over 200 million lek. Additionally, the turnover of the participating companies altogether in the domestic market needs to be over 400 million lek and the turnover of at least one participating company in the domestic market is over 200 million lek.
According to the Competition Authority, any interested parties on the transaction may submit their requests or opinions until five days after the announcement.
