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| At the villages of Papër and Valasi by drone and ENI logo in the middle (montage) |
Eni Albania company predicts that consultations regarding the work that will start for the drilling of the Dumrea Deep-1 well will be held in November. In a document submitted to the authorities, the company, which has a hydrocarbon production-sharing agreement with the Albanian government, states that the location of the oil exploration well will be between two villages, as Italian media affirm.
"The proposed well drilling area is located in the Shkumbin River valley, near the villages of Papër and Valasi, close to the SH59 road, just after the bridge at the intersection with the SH7 road (Elbasan – Papër – Cërrik. The closest settlements to the project area are the village of Papër approximately 700 m to the north-east of the well site and the village of Valasi approximately 600 m to the south of the well site. The village of Murras is located 1.4 km to the northwest of the drilling site. There are a few scattered houses near the drilling site, on the opposite side of the SH59 road at a distance of approximately 100 m to the south of the drilling site)," the document states.
The latter emphasizes that the purpose of the project is to assess the presence of the oil-bearing reservoir (expected to be between 5,000 - 6,500 meters deep in the ground) through the exploration well "Dumrea Deep-1," which will be located in Papër (Elbasan Municipality).
"The project is within the Dumre Block, in an area that has previously expressed interest in drilling exploration wells for oil. The Dumre Block covers an area of 587 km2 and is located in the Dumre region, in the central region of Albania, approximately 40 km south of the capital Tirana," the company's summary emphasizes.
In a separate section, the company highlights the timeline for the implementation of the project, summarizing it in several points.
"The current possible timeframe for the 'Dumrea Deep-1' exploration well project includes:
Preparatory work: expected to start in December 2023 and finish in May 2024;
Mobilization: relocation of the drilling rig and ancillary equipment to the drilling site, installation of the drilling rig, inspection, and approval by qualified third parties of the entire system by mid-2024 (approximately 25-30 days);
Drilling time: Starting in the second half of 2024 (the total estimated duration of the well, including the installation of the rig, acceptance of the well, etc., is approximately 275 days).
At the end of the operations, the well will be isolated, and the site will be restored to its initial state of use (the state prior to the commencement of drilling operations). The well abandonment procedures, i.e., the dismantling of the drilling rig and the demobilization of equipment and services, typically require 15-20 days.
The government, which had been issuing blocks of free oil for some time, managed to sign a new agreement with the Italian company ENI in 2019, with new conditions different from the existing framework, where Albania is expected to benefit more. This means that in the event of oil discovery and production commencement, our country will benefit from the first oil well, rather than waiting for the company's return on investment.