Why Albania Will be in the News in the Upcoming Months

The country has proven to be exceptionally rich in renewable energy sources with most of its electricity generated by hydropower plants, but the increased electricity demand has led to regular power shortages, and the country is only exploiting 35% of its hydropower potential at the moment. These factors have encouraged the Government to reform its electricity model through the implementation of new EU regulations and the development of its infrastructure; Albania is now looking for further investments in the renewable sector.

Moreover, Albania is currently exploiting its offshore oil and gas resources with private companies performing offshore test drillings. Albania could also play a role in improving Europe’s energy security, through possible investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and new gas pipelines. The European demand-supply gap is of growing concern to many EU countries and one of the solutions still under development, is the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is designed to bring in natural gas from Azerbaijan via Greece and Albania. There is little doubt that in 2015 Albania will take centre stage in the energy industry.

The Albania Oil, Gas & Energy 2015 Summit, organised by IRN in Tirana on 17-18th March, 2015, will discuss Albania’s potential and its next step towards energy efficiency. This forum, fully endorsed by the Ministry of Energy and the National Agency of Natural Resources (AKBN), is the first to be dedicated to Albania to allow an in-depth assessment of the new ventures available at the country level. Dr Lutz Landwehr, Commercial and Finance Director at Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), will present on the significance of the TAP for the development of the Balkan region and assess the most significant updates at the Summit.

The two-day Summit will gather key industry leaders to assess the huge investment opportunities offered by this resource rich country. In fact, Albania is one of the most attractive developing countries for energy investors. Apart from being strategically located in South-eastern Europe, with a natural opening to European markets and the Balkan region, and at the crossroads of major European corridors, Albania possesses low construction prices and labour force salaries.

During the Oil & Gas International Licensing Summit, a senior level petroleum gathering that took place last month in London, also hosted by IRN, Dritan Spahiu, Director of Policies and Development of Hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Energy and Industry of Albania, reviewed the past and future of the Albanian licensing round system. He told international companies and Ministerial delegations in attendance that ‘Albania has very high potential in crude oil, it is very positive for investors’. He then invited the audience to join the Albania Oil, Gas & Energy 2015 Summit in March, where more details around the opportunities will be unveiled.

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