Loan for Albanian oil field
TIRANA (AP) – Raiffeisen Bank said yesterday it has given a $20 million (15.6-million-euro) loan to Bankers Petroleum Albania Ltd to help it develop an oil field in central Albania, the largest ever loan made by a local bank in Albania. Bankers Petroleum will use the loan – a $15 million term loan payable over five years and a $5 million revolving line of credit, both with commercial interest rates – while it operates in Albania to develop and extract oil in the Patos Marinza oil field, 110 kilometers (68 miles) south of the capital Tirana. «We are really happy to work with Bankers Petroleum in Albania. This proves that Albania is becoming a destination for foreign investment,» said Steven Grunerud of Raiffeisen Bank in Albania. «The oil that Bankers is producing is both reducing the imports for Albania and developing additional exports that will contribute strongly to improving the balance of payments for the country. «Raiffeisen is very excited to work with a company that is improving the future of Albania.» Austria’s Raiffeisen bought Albania’s state-owned Savings Bank – the last state-owned bank – for $100 million in 2003. It is also a leader in the credit market with more than $200 million in loans in Albania. Bankers Petroleum Albania Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bankers Petroleum Ltd, a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on opportunities in unconventional petroleum assets. Albania produces about 7,000 barrels of oil a day.
