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August 17, 2015

by AEA

TAP vital to European energy security

The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project, which envisages the transportation of gas from the second stage of development of Azerbaijan’s giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea to the European Union countries, has already ensured its strategic role in the EU’s energy security.

Recently, the TAP project, which is the western part of the Southern Gas Corridor that goes from the Greek/Turkish border to Italy through Albania, has been included in the European Commission’s list of 33 priority energy security Projects of Common Interest.

The EC, in a positive decision to grant exemption to the pipeline from third party access, highlighted the “overall positive impact for the EU of this investment as it is responding directly to the Security of Supply objective of diversification of gas sources, routes and counterparties”.

Also, the European Investment Bank reported that it is considering providing a 2 billion euro loan to the TAP project, pending approval from the Board of Directors of the bank.

All of these facts show EU desires for the implementation of TAP. As the pipeline’s fame increases by the day, countries show great interest in acquiring shares in the project.

In July, a source in the Turkish government told Trend that Turkey intends to acquire shares in the TAP project. The source said that the acquisition of a stake in TAP is a historic opportunity for Turkey, and Ankara is not going to miss it. Currently the issue is being considered, according to the source.

TAP is meant to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece, Albania, and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further to Western Europe. The pipeline’s total length is about 870 kilometers.

The construction of the pipeline is scheduled to start on May 16, 2016. TAP’s initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, expandable to 20 billion cubic meters per year.

The construction of TAP will not only provide European countries with Azerbaijani gas, but also pave the way for establishing a significant gas pipeline and infrastructure network in the region.

Shares of TAP are held by BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent), and Axpo (5 percent).

By Aynur Karimova

August 4, 2015

by AEA

Albania picks bids by Shell, Delek unit for oil exploration

Albania has picked a venture led by Royal Dutch Shell and a company owned by Israeli’s Delek Group to carry out onshore oil exploration projects, subject to final contract agreements, an official told Reuters on Monday.

Shell Upstream Albania BV and Canada’s Petromanas will now negotiate with Albania’s National Resources Agency to get the final go-ahead to explore in sector four of the country, southeast of their current drilling site at Shpirag.

Navitas Petroleum, controlled by Israeli’s Delek, made the winning bid to explore the area of Dumre in central Albania.

The two successful bids followed more than two years of preparations by Albania to auction off more blocks, after it postponed the auctions of some onshore blocks because companies required more time.

The auction of offshore blocks was also delayed, because of Albania’s dispute with Greece over the division of their continental shelf in the Ionian Sea.

Promising initial results from a well in Shpirag by the Shell-Petromanas partnership has increased Shell’s interest in Albania and drawn international interest, despite low oil prices and the failure of previous exploration attempts in the country following the toppling of communism in 1991.

Reuters

August 3, 2015

by AEA

Oil sands, heavy oil, and bitumen : from recovery to refinery

During the late 1970s, when I was a graduate student just stepping into the petroleum arena and working toward my doctorate, the biggest fear in this field was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). At that time, OPEC had an extraordinary influence over world oil industries. Baby boomers will remember the notorious “OPEC shock” of the ’70s, which caused panic in this country and had an immediate economic impact all over the world. More than a quarter-century later, that worry has diminished. OPEC’s ability to control the industry has immensely decreased, mostly because of the increasing availability of unconventional resources around the world. The vast oil sands deposits found in Canada—which are the second largest reserve, after the conventional resources in Saudi Arabia—changed everything. Few would disagree that the balance of power has shifted from the Middle East to the West. Canadian oil sands have become the focal point and comprise a major future energy source for the entire world—and will remain such as long as the price of conventional oil remains high.

[embeddoc url=”https://info.aea-al.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Oil-Sands-Heavy-Oil-Bitumen-From-Recovery-to-Refinery-PennWell-2012.pdf” viewer=”google”]

July 31, 2015

by AEA

Albania Country Report – BTI 2014

This report is part of the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI) 2014. It covers the period from 31 January 2011 to 31 January 2013. The BTI assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of political management in 129 countries. More on the BTI at http://www.bti-project.org.
Please cite as follows: Bertelsmann Stiftung, BTI 2014 — Albania Country Report. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2014.

The evolution of Albania’s fragile democracy during the review period (which did not include the 2013 elections and post-electoral period) showed signs of a downward spiral. Indicators of this trend include the government’s demonstrative failure to organize free and fair local elections in 2011; infringement of the principle of separation of powers through the placing of majority party’s representatives in crucial state positions; political interference in major political investigations; and a failure of the judiciary to persecute cases of abuse of public office. The core problem is not the lack of democratic institutions and procedures, but the misuse of laws and institutions by the ruling elite for political or individual gain. This shift, or elites’ focus on political or individual goals at the expense of institutional procedures, has additionally worked to stagnate or even reverse some important steps taken in management performance and economic development.

[embeddoc url=”https://info.aea-al.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BTI_2014_Albania.pdf” viewer=”google”]

July 31, 2015

by AEA

Green Energy Efficient Schools for Albania 2015-Case Study

The Albanian government’s commitment to sustainability, the country’s favorable climate for renewable energy initiatives, and an overall enthusiasm for education among its citizens make Albania an ideal environment for a thriving “green schools” movement. With investments from both the international community and the Albanian government, the country is well positioned to transform education, generate employment opportunities, and boost GDP by engaging in a greening process in its schools. A series of changes to improve energy efficiency, air quality, indoor/outdoor facilities, and other design elements will:
1. Improve health, safety, and comfort conditions;
2. Provide uninterrupted electricity in schools;
3. Generate 220,000 new jobs; and
4. Increase GDP by US$880 million.
These achievements will also pave the way for Albania to launch a solar industry nationwide and become a leader in the green schools movement regionally. Sustainability Solutions Initiatives evaluated the opportunities, challenges, impacts, and costs for making Albania’s more than 3,300 school buildings safer, healthier, and more energy efficient and sustainable learning environments. Currently, Albania’s schools—particularly those in rural areas—suffer frequent power outages because they have limited access to a national electric grid that manages only a 60 percent reliability rate. Overall, however, the school buildings themselves have foundations that are well suited to energy efficiency with some basic modifications. While major improvements are needed in some areas to make the schools both energy efficient and compliant with Albania’s new EU-based standards for educational facilities, if implemented properly, the amount of resources needed to power the schools will be significantly lower than would be used by
standard building renovations. With that in mind, the ASU research team conducted a comprehensive study, which involved a literature review; software-based modeling for various energy, comfort, and impact scenarios; cost-data gathering and analysis; and evaluations of the results. The study is detailed in the following report.

[embeddoc url=”https://info.aea-al.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/AlbaniaGreenSchools-FinalReport.pdf” viewer=”google”]

July 31, 2015

by AEA

Energy Efficiency in Albania 2013

The process of European integration aims to bring peace and economic prosperity to Europe through the integration of markets and the presence of a safety net for citizens. Within the EU and its member-states, energy and environment are two of the most pressing issues of today. The prospect of sharply rising energy prices and increasing dependence on imports makes the EU energy supply less reliable, and jeopardizes the whole economy. Reducing emissions and curbing climate change are key objectives of the EU energy policy. Environmental policy is one of the most relevant examples of the progressive institutionalization of a system of government built around the original aim of economic integration. Today, indeed, many of the regulations in a Member State’s environmental legal framework are a direct or indirect emanation of the Acquis Communautaire. Candidate and potential candidate countries, when adapting national norms to EU standards, are faced with quite challenging institutional, financial and technical issues. A committed and long-term political agenda can transform these issues into a greater opportunity for development. The present report aims at describing the sub-sector of Energy Efficiency in Albania, as Potential Candidate country, its recent developments and its challenges. It presents the results of a desk study undertaken by the Consultant between May and July 2013 in Albania.

[embeddoc url=”https://info.aea-al.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CoPlan_Energy-Efficiency_Report-RZajmi_July-2013.pdf” viewer=”google”]