Dutch energy giant Shell is on the verge of discovering major gas and oil reserves in Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama told Dutch journalists on Monday, in a development that has the potential to change the energy future of Europe.
The company has long been active in Albania, and in 2018, the company signed several multi-million euro deals to explore regions of the country for gas and oil. There have been several promising findings over the years, including a large oil deposit with significant gas deposits believed to be located through the south.
“We are very hopeful that soon we will be able to share with [the public] an important discovery made by Shell in our country. They are reluctant to talk about numbers at the moment, but all signs point to a very important discovery of gas and oil reserves in the ground,” Rama said.
The prime minister added that he expects the discovery to have major ramifications for the future of energy in Europe.
This could “affect the future of our country but will also play a role in the energy future of Europe,” Rama added.
Since 2018, Shell has undertaken a geographical survey in two areas of southern Albania: Block 2, located near Berat, and Block 4, which includes swathes of countryside and parts of the Vjosa River.
Footage shot and collected by Exit shows machinery, disturbed swathes of earth, and rubbish left over from activities relating to exploration in Kelcyre and Permet, towns situated on the river.
The survey has raised concerns among local residents and environmentalists, prompting a representative of Shell to release a statement saying they will not drill for gas in the Vjosa River, independently of the results of their current survey.
The Vjosa River, Europe’s last wild river is currently the centre of an international campaign to designate it as a National Park, therefore protecting it from hydropower plants and oil exploration.
Recently, the Albanian government signed a memorandum of understanding with international company Patagonia to develop the Vjosa National Park, as Rama pledged any economic activity that affects the river would be prohibited.
When asked what impact the designation of National Park and prohibition of economic activity in the region would have on Shell’s 2018 contract, they repeated their statement that “the Vjosa River is a natural site of special importance. We will never drill for hydrocarbons in the Vjosa valley.”
(euractiv.com, July 7, 2022)
