SHELL leaves Albania/ Sovereign Fund with Shpiragu remained a dream for Rama

In the summer of 2023, Prime Minister Edi Rama alongside Energy Minister Belinda Balluku, announced to Albanians that Dutch giant SHELL had discovered high quality oil in Shpirag.

"The oil found in the Shpirag area is an oil of the same quality as Saudi Arabia's premium oil," the prime minister said.

Rama and Balluku also said the government had started work on creating a Sovereign Fund under the Norwegian model.

"The economic and financial benefit of this wealth will impact pensions, will impact the balance of payments of the Republic of Albania indisputablely, it will affect, not discussed, the education system, the health system and will impact the welfare of our children in the first place because they will be the biggest beneficiaries," rama said.

But such statements, experts in the field, consider them excessive.

"Sovereign fund good idea but excessive. At the time of the project, you can't make such predictions. The spleen is a difficult project from many points of view. From the technical, it's very expensive because it's deep down and very complicated because geology is like that. The rock is such that it does not give the optimal parameters for a land that would lead us to the sovereign fund", argues Kastriot Bejtaj, engineer with more than 35 years experience in hydrocarbon activity in Albania.

August 2023 was not the first time or the last time Rama and Balluku had spoken about significant oil and gas discoveries by SHELL in Albania. Since 2013, Rama has been rushing to make sensational statements on behalf of the company. On the other hand, shell's only official announcement on the test performance in Shpirag dates back to May 23, 2019.

'The first tests of Shell Upstream Albania B.V. (Shell) at the Shpirag-4 rating well near Berat confirm the potential of the intractable oil discovery.' – it was written in the announcement confirming the potential of significant oil discovery near Berat.

A few months after dreaming of sovereign wealth and premium quality oil, media reported that the company's preliminary tests in Shpirag had proved disappointing. Also, field verifications confirmed that oil and gas research activity in Shpirag had stopped.

However, the government did continue to propose on Shpiragun – from oil of The Quality of Arabia to that of Texas.

"The quality of that oil already analysed by SHELL experts is the same as the Saudi Arabian and Texas brand, which are the two highest qualities in the extractive industry again due to the complications we had there with the geology pushing of Shpiragu mountain the results have been delayed," balluku said during the 2025 budget report.

Although SHELL continues to share no official comments regarding Shpiragu, sources told Faktoje.al that march will seal the company's departure from Albania.

Even in the 2023 financial statements published this year, SHELL admits that the tests at Shpirag ended with a result that advises against continuing the assessment.

"At the beginning of 2024, the tests at Shpirag -5 ended with a result that advises against continuing the assessment," shell's activity performance report reads.

Engineer Bejtaj does not consider The Shpiragu failure.

Shell expected the volumes for each well to be X when they resulted in three times less. he explains.

"There is a hydrocarbon presence. SHELL has this position for this facility because it does not meet shell standards expectations in terms of envisioned production. Based on these preliminary indicators, the company does not care about development there. Because the investment he makes could be returned to him for a long time that goes outside his optimistic scenario," the engineer concludes.

Nga ana tjetër, kompania holandeze ka vendosur të tërhiqet edhe nga një tjetër bllok kërkimesh- blloku 4 që ndodhet në jug të vendit.

“Bazuar në vlerësimin/vendimin e marrë nga drejtuesit, nuk ka synim për të vazhduar aktivitetin e tij të biznesit për një të ardhme të parashikueshme. Drejtuesit vlerëson se likuidimi i degës do të fillojë përgjatë vitit 2025”, argumentohet në pasqyrat financiare të kompanisë.”

Çfarë ndodh pas largimit të SHELL?
Faktoje ju drejtuar Agjencisë Kombëtare të Burimeve Natyrore, mbi fatin e Shpiragut pas largimit të SHELL. Por deri në momentin e publikimit të këtij shkrimi nuk kemi marrë përgjigje.

Ekspertët thonë se kur SHELL të largohet, kompania duhet të dorëzojë marrëveshjen hidrokarbure dhe gjithçka ka bërë në Shpirag pranë AKBN-së.

“Sipas këtyre premisave SHELL i bie te largohet. Të largohet dhe të shtrëngojë duart me autoritetet shqiptare dhe palët të ndahen paqësisht. SHELL dorëzon marrëveshjen dhe dorëzon pranë AKBN-së gjithçka ka bërë atje. Dhe këto i merr shteti shqiptar i cili mund të rihapë përsëri garën.”, thotë inxhinier Kastriot Bejtaj.

Historia e Shell në Shqipëri nis në vitin 1994 me marrjen e blloqeve B dhe F. Shell përfundoi kërkimet sizmike, por nuk arriti të shpojë puse për shkak të shpërthimit të trazirës civile në 1997 që e detyroi kompaninë ta zgjidhte kontratën me ndarje prodhimi. Shell u rikthye në Shqipëri në shkurt të 2012 ku filloi punimet në dy blloqe ekzistuese të kërkimit në tokë, në Shpirag (Blloku 2-3) në zotërim të kompanisë Petromanas dhe mori të drejtën e shfrytëzimit të këtij Blloku në vitin 2016. Më pas, kompania nënshkroi kontratë edhe për bllokun 4 në jug të vendit.

Përfundim
Nisur nga verifikimi i kryer dhe të dhënat e mbledhura, deklaratën e kryeministrit Edi Rama se në Shpirag ishte zbuluar naftë e cilësisë premium, do ta kategorizojmë të pavërtetë./ Esmeralda Topi Faktoje.al