Prime Minister Edi Rama attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian energy company Eni S.p.A. for a feasibility study on establishing national capacities for the supply and storage of oil and gas products.

During his remarks, Rama said the project is linked to the government’s ambition to create a new, modern operator in the hydrocarbons market that would also play a regulatory role in the interest of consumers.

“I would like to recall that at the beginning of this new mandate, we shared with the public our ambition to create a new force in the hydrocarbons market — a modern and dynamic operator that would also serve as a market regulator to ensure better opportunities for consumers. Along the way, we were confronted with a significant crisis that once again brought the issue of strategic oil reserves into focus. While we do have a legal framework regulating such reserves, we also took into account our special strategic relationship with Italy and our close cooperation with Eni, a global giant in the hydrocarbons sector that also has a presence in Albania,” Rama said.

According to the Prime Minister, the new operator will also be responsible for establishing strategic oil reserves, helping the country become better prepared to face potential future crises.

“We discussed a strategic partnership through the creation of this new operator, which will also take responsibility for building the country’s strategic oil reserve. Albania will no longer have any doubts about its ability to face whatever crisis may arise in the future. We initiated a dialogue process that has brought us today to the signing of this first step in formalizing the company’s establishment,” Rama stated.

He added that cooperation with the Italian company has already entered a concrete phase and that the goal is to complete the registration of the new company before August.