Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Italian company Eni, discussed potential new areas of activity in Albania focused on energy transition, including the production of agri-feedstock for bio-refining on degraded lands.
Descalzi held a meeting with Albanian energy minister Belinda Balluku and then they attended a meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama, Eni said in a press release.
Bio-refining is a process that converts biomass such as agricultural feedstock into products like biofuels, biochemicals, and other renewable materials.
The CEO also updated Edi Rama on Eni’s oil exploration activities at an onshore block in Albania’s central region of Dumre.
Eni signed a production-sharing contract with the Albanian government for oil exploration in Dumre with a 100% equity interest in December 2019.
After conducting geophysical surveying in 2021 and 2022, Eni planned to begin preliminary works in Dumre in January 2024, according to previously disclosed information. However, the company rescheduled works to December, with drilling expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025.
