Huge Oil & Gas Reserve Found in Albania

10 January 2008 Tirana _ Vast and untouched reserves of oil and gas have been discovered in northern Albania, one of Central Asia's and Eastern Europe's leading petroleum corporations announced Thursday.

The report was compiled by Gustavson Associates LLC on behalf of Manas Petroleum Corporation, which has been awarded a contact by the Albanian government to explore the north of the country for oil and gas reserves.

According to their findings, the unproven reserve holds up to 2.987 billion barrels of oil and 3.014 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

However if the oil is capped with a layer of gas, Gustavson calculates the field to total 1.4 billion barrels of light oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

And in the event that only gas is present, the reserve is expected to contain 28 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Balkans region has proven oil reserves totalling approximately 345 million barrels. Of that, 198 million barrels is located in Albania .

Proven natural gas reserves in the Balkans region add up to approximately 2.7 trillion cubic feet.

Under the licence awarded to Manas Petroleum Corporation, the company is allowed to explore oil and gas reserves in an area approximately 780,000 acres in size, located along a geological fold in north-western Albania.

'The probability of success for a wildcat well in a structurally complex area such as this, is relatively high due to the fact that there exists a proven hydrocarbon source and analogous production exists only 20 to 30 km away,' notes Gustavson in the report.

Manas is currently still analysing the findings and will make further announcements on its next steps in the coming weeks.

The corporation is an important player in the development of Albania's terrestrial oil and gas reserves.

In December 2007, Albania's Council of Ministers agreed to allow DWM Petroleum AG, a subsidiary of Manas, to assist in the exploration, development and production of Albania's land-based hydrocarbon reserves in conjunction with the government's Agency of Natural Resources.