TIRANA, Jan. 13 – Weak oil prices are impacting Albania’s oil exploration and production sector, one of the country’s top exporting industries and source of foreign direct investment, according to a report published by UK-based BMI Research, which is part of Fitch Group, a global leader in financial information services.
In a report on Albania’s oil and gas prospects for the next four years, BMI Research warns the slight cut in oil production by Canada-based Bankers Petroleum and U.S.-based TransAtlantic Petroleum announcing that it has put its Albanian unit up for sale due to a significant decline in oil prices and lack of credit will affect crude oil and gas production from 2016 to 2019.
BMI expects crude and natural gas and other liquids production to drop to 25,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2016, down from 26,700 bopd in 2015 and a record high of 27,500 bopd in 2014. Prospects for 2017 to 2019 seem grim as production is further expected to drop to 25,200 bopd by 2019.
“We now see no domestic gas production over our forecast, with the TransAtlantic’s Delvina prospect delayed for years at best,” says BMI.
Last November, TransAtlantic announced it is to market its entire Albanian assets, putting around 700 bopd production and the country’s best gas prospect at risk.
The Shell/Petromanas’ Shpirag development holds the strongest upside potential to BMI’s longer-term oil outlook. However, an ongoing maritime border dispute with Greece increases the risk to exploration projects in the Adriatic Joni-5 block.
The construction schedule of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) – traversing Albania on its route from Greece to Italy – remains on track for gas deliveries in 2020, says BMI Research.
