By adopting law no.6/2017, the Albanian Parliament amended the
1993 Law on Hydrocarbons (Exploration and Production). These last
changes aim to make the law more easily applicable, as well as to
bring it closer to the acquis of EU. The amendments also focus on
safeguarding these important public assets.
Law no.6/2017 dated 02.02.2017 includes several definitions
which were not originally included in the 1993 law and its previous
amendments. Some of the most interesting ones include the
definition of the License Agreement, which is the authorization
provided by the Ministry for exploration, development and
production of hydrocarbons in the contract area. This license
includes the possibility to transfer the rights wholly or
partially, to a local or foreign legal person, or to an
international financial institution. However, if it deems it
necessary for matters of national security, the Ministry may reject
the transfer of the hydrocarbon agreement quotas.
