TIRANA, Jan. 24 – The Albanian government and Shell oil giant have withdrawn from oil search plans at a protected area in the southern Albanian region of Gjirokastra following protests by local residents and opposition by cultural heritage and tourism experts.
Representatives of the Albania unit of Shell oil giant, already engaged in some major oil exploration projects in the country, say the company will not carry out any search or drilling activity in Zagoria, a protected area in the region of Gjirokastra with a unique ecosystem and rare animals that has been recently emerging as an adventure travel destination.
The withdrawal came after a hearing with local residents this week was met with protests and strong opposition over oil exploration plans in an area where the Albanian government and Shell initially planned to conduct a seismic study that did not exclude the use of explosives or specialized trucks in the search for possible petroleum, natural gas and mineral deposits.
Reacting to concerns, Prime Minister Edi Rama also assured no oil drilling will be carried out at the Zagoria protected area.
The Zagoria national park, part of the Libohova municipality, was one of the seven Gjirokastra municipalities that Shell oil giant had identified to search for oil and gas this year as part of its newly acquired onshore Block 4, southern Albania.
Located about 35 km east of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gjirokastra, the Zagoria park has been a protected area since 2015 and in May 2018, the whole area was declared a nature park by the government for its unique ecosystem and rare animals such as the brown bear and the wild goat and pig that breed there.
A hilly area with only few hundreds of residents, Zagoria has been recently emerging as an adventure travel destination, with tour operators offering ‘travel back in time’ horse riding tours.
Albania expects good news from Shell’s oil exploration operations in the country and is hopeful the British-Dutch multinational oil giant will soon engage in oil production that could give a boost to the country’s oil industry and much-needed foreign direct investment at a time when two major energy-related projects are set to complete their investment stage by the end of this year, leaving a huge gap in Albania’s FDI.
Albania is one of the few countries where Shell did not suspend its oil exploration operations following the mid-2014 slump in oil prices.
