This memo, from an unamed company associated with the oil industry in Albania, details the apparently intentional and widespread contamination of land by Bankers Petroleum on and around the Visoka oil field site, Albania. The memo suggests that elements of the Albanian government are aware of, and are actively attempting to cover up, the damage caused.
The contamination is on a scale that would cause outrage in the US or UK, yet the issues presented in this memo have not received press attention.
However, it should be noted that the source declined to tell WikiLeaks the name of the authoring company, as a way of protecting themselves, hence we have been unable to verify the memo without opening up the facts to further scrutiny (by releasing it). The tone suggests that the material was written by a competing oil company, so there may be motivation to exaggerate.MEMORANDUM
RE: Summary of events surrounding environmental damage to Visoka oil field
DATE: October 12, 2009
For purposes of this memo the following terms will be used: Petroleum Agreement
between IEC Visoka, Inc. (“IEC Visoka”) and Albpetrol, SH.A. (“Albpetrol”) dated
December 3, 2008 (the “IEC Agreement”); License Agreement between The Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Energy, as represented by The National Agency of Natural
Resources (“AKBN”) and Albpetrol dated December 2, 2008 (the “IEC License”);
Heads of Agreement between Albpetrol and IEC Visoka dated April 29, 2008 (the
“Heads of Agreement”); and the Memorandum of Good Understanding between IEC
Visoka’s predecessor in interest and Albpetrol dated October 8, 2007 (the “MOGU”).
Here are the facts as we know them as of the date of this memo. The Timeline attached
hereto as Annex N, gives us a picture of the following events:
In January of 2008 Bankers Petroleum (“Bankers”) wrote Albpetrol a letter
asking permission to takeover well 646, along with several other wells (See
Annex C). Well 646 is a carbonate well clearly inside the Visoka oil field
coordinates for IEC Visoka’s “Contract Area” (as described in the Heads of
Agreement, IEC Agreement and IEC License) (the “IEC Contract Area”).
In complete violation of the terms of the MOGU and the Heads of Agreement,
Albpetrol went ahead and granted Bankers permission to takeover well 646
knowing full well that well 646 was within the IEC Contract Area. It is our
understanding that this permission was given the same week as Bankers’ request.
3. We have learned that Bankers did not start injecting water into well 646 until after
May of 2009. Instead for seventeen months they illegally pumped approximately
2,600 tons (6.286 barrels per ton) of oil from well 646.
4. In June of 2009, subsequent to the execution of the IEC Agreement and IEC
License, Bankers began to inject water from their field into well 646 at about 20
tankers a day hauling 20 tons per load according to eye witnesses living on the
field. This is supported by the suddenly extremely high water levels in our
reservoir which were not previously there. However, Bankers only reported to
Albpetrol that they injected a total of 28,000 cubic meters.
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