A venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Canada's Petromanas has applied to drill two onshore blocks in central Albania close to another promising well they are drilling further south, an official told Reuters on July 23.
The official said three bids had been submitted for the blocks—from Shell Upstream Albania B.V with PetromanasAlbania GmbH, Israel's Delek Group Limited and Interland Investments SA.
The National Resources Agency has forwarded the bids to the Energy Ministry, which will pick a winner and instruct the agency to start negotiations.
Shell's bid signals renewed interest in Albania, a NATO nation seeking to join the European Union, after many oil majors failed to strike oil there in the decade after it toppled communism in 1990.
The Shell-Petromanas venture in Albania is now drilling two wells to size up the output potential after very promising initial results at their Shpirag well, half a mile from the spot where Occidental found very little oil in 2001 and quit.
Recommended Reading
Comstock Continues Wildcatting, Drops Two Legacy Haynesville Rigs
2024-02-15 - The operator is dropping two of five rigs in its legacy East Texas and northwestern Louisiana play and continuing two north of Houston.
CEO: Continental Adds Midland Basin Acreage, Explores Woodford, Barnett
2024-04-11 - Continental Resources is adding leases in Midland and Ector counties, Texas, as the private E&P hunts for drilling locations to explore. Continental is also testing deeper Barnett and Woodford intervals across its Permian footprint, CEO Doug Lawler said in an exclusive interview.
CNX, Appalachia Peers Defer Completions as NatGas Prices Languish
2024-04-25 - Henry Hub blues: CNX Resources and other Appalachia producers are slashing production and deferring well completions as natural gas spot prices hover near record lows.
Equinor Says EQT Asset Swap Upgrades International Portfolio
2024-04-30 - Equinor CFO Torgrim Reitan says the company’s recent U.S. asset swap with EQT Corp. was an example of the European company “high-grading” its international E&P portfolio.
Barnett & Beyond: Marathon, Oxy, Peers Testing Deeper Permian Zones
2024-04-29 - Marathon Oil, Occidental, Continental Resources and others are reaching under the Permian’s popular benches for new drilling locations. Analysts think there are areas of the basin where the Permian’s deeper zones can compete for capital.