Oil refinery to undergo restructuring for privatization

TIRANA, Jan.24 – On Wednesday the Albanian cabinet decided to take some important steps for the restructuring of ARMO, the oil refinery and oil distributor. Clear balance sheets with all its tangible assets and the financial accounts of its petrol stations will be made public since ARMO’s privatization is expected to be re-launched this year. A new privatization act is due to be adopted for this procedure. The restructuring is part of ARMO’s privatization formula and includes reorganization of the corporate, managerial and operational bodies, registration of all assets, liquidating businesses that report losses and solving the problems of illegal oil and oil products retailers. An ARMO sell-off bill was approved in July 2003. The state was going to offer at least a 51% stake in the refiner, to a strategic investor. In May 2005, the government offered it for sale but all nine investors to initially show interest withdrew from the tender. ARMO has its central operative offices in the southern city of Fier, very close to the Vlora port. It has two refineries – one in Fier and another in nearby Ballsh. The total combined processing capacity is 1.5 million tons of crude oil per year. The company’s domestic market share in the motor fuel market last summer reached the level of 22 percent. The refinery’s sale is part of a government program for the privatization of state assets, including petroleum firms Albpetrol and Servcom, fixed-line monopoly Albtelececom, power utility KESH, insurer INSIG, and motor fuel dealer Petrolimpex.