Bankers Petroleum

Bankers Petroleum own the Patos-Marinza oil field wich is dhe largest oil field in Albania it's history began since 1994. 

In 1994

AAP (Anglo Albanian Petroleum, a partnership between Premier Oil, IFC, OMV and Albpetrol), signed the original concession for the development of the Patos-Marinza oilfield.

In 2003

AAP had spent the past nine years evaluating the Patos-Marinza asset but due to weak oil price environment and punitive contract terms, the Company relinquished the block in early 2004. A technical team from AAP saw the tremendous opportunity in the asset and came back to Canada to raise seed money to reactivate wells under a new concession, to what became the present day Bankers Petroleum

In 2004 

Bankers is granted the Petroleum Agreement to operate the Patos-Marinza oilfield.

In 2006

Bankers Petroleum acquires four unconventional shale gas prospects in northern and central United States.

In 2007

The first train of cascading tanks used to treat their oil at the Central Treatment Facility (CTF) was built. The CTF is a scalable facility where trains can be added treating capacity alongside our growth

In 2008

Bankers acquires 50% interest in the Kucova oilfield.

In 2008

Bankers acquires the remaining 50% interest in Kucova through the acquisition of the remaining 50% of the issued and outstanding securities of the independent private company Sherwood International Petroleum Ltd. which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bankers.

In 2008

Bankers Petroleum spun out its North American assets as BNK Petroleum and refocusing Bankers Petroleum’s attention of the Patos-Marinza field.

In 2008

Bankers drilled its first horizontal well, revitalizing the field, and increasing nearly doubling the recovery factor of the oil in place.

In 2009

The Petrolifera Italo Albanese (PIA) Terminal in the port of Vlore, Albania was completed. Bankers has a total of 153,140 bbls storage at the port. 145,400 bbls of oil can be shipped there.

In 2009

Bankers Petroleum finalized loan agreements with the International Finance Corporate (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and development (EBRD) for the provision of reserved-based long term financing of up to US$110 million to fund capital requirements and working capital needs for the Company’s projects in Albania

In 2009

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) exercised its warrant holdings of 8.0 million warrants generating proceeds of CDN $12 million. The IFC is a global investor and advisor committed to promoting sustainable projects in developing member countries that are economically beneficial, financially and commercially sound, and environmentally and socially sustainable.

In 2009

Bankers finalizes the Production Sharing Contract for the acquisition of Block F.

In 2012

Bankers commensed operation of a pipeline to take oil from our Central Treating Facility in the field 11 km to the Fier Hub truck loading station. This was the first phase of a planned pipeline which will extend the 35 km stretch along the existing highway to the Port in Vlore.

In 2013

Began preliminary injectivity testing at the first pilot polymer flood location.

In 2013

The International Finance Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have approved an extension of the Company’s existing credit facility to September 2020. No repayments are required until September 2017, from which time the facility amount will decrease by 25% annually. Collectively the revolving loan facilities will increase to $200 million from the existing $100 million.

In 2014

On July 11th, 2014, Bujar Nishani, President of the Republic of Albania, presented a medal for “Special Civil Merits” to Abby Badwi at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Tirana. Abby was awarded in recognition of his continuous activity in the economic, social & cultural life of the country, as well as for his many years professional assistance while he held the position of the President and CEO of Bankers Petroleum LTD. in Albania.

In 2014

Drilled their first pilot multi-lateral well, the first of its kind in an unconsolidated sandstone. Using this technology could help to unlock target locations with heavy oil mobility concerns and thinner pay zones to expand our development and improve recovery.

In 2014

Completed the county’s first 3D seismic shoot to image the Bubullima area, at the northwest corner of our field as well as a portion of Block F. After interpreting the 3D seismic we will be able to better determine future Bubullima drilling locations as well as evaluate potential natural gas targets on Block "F".

In 2014

Bankers Petroleum has been awarded as a Fast Growth 50 company for the 3rd year in a row. The Fast Growth 50 program ranks businesses with significant growth in revenue, assets, capital expenditures and employees. The award is produced by Alberta Venture magazine and KPMG and is one of the most recognized business rankings in the province.

In 2014

Suneel Gupta has been named 2015 COO of the year from Alberta Oil Magazine. Suneel’s expertise and exceptional leadership has led to the revitalization of Banker’s heavy oil assets in Albania. His hard work, dedication and commitment to Bankers as a company, to our employees, and to the business has and will continue to bring many milestones and achievements.

In 2016

Geo-Jade has acquired all the issued and outstanding common shares of Bankers through its affiliates for a cash price of C$2.20 per Bankers Share.  Subsequently, the Bankers Shares were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"). Bankers will continue to operate as an independent business unit operating its world-class Albanian and Eastern European assets.

Patos Marinza Oil Field

Patos Marinza is an Albanian oil field that was discovered in 1928. It is the biggest on-shore oil field in Europe, and with its 11,854 barrels (1,884.6 m³) every day the biggest oil producing field in Albania. The Patos Marinza oil field is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) east of the city of Fier in south central Albania. Its proven reserves are about 2 billion barrels (320×10⁶ m³). Patos Marinzas has only heavy oil and is in production since the 1930s. Now this field is owned by Bankers Petroleum, before it was a Canadian company but now Bankers is owened by a Chinese company called Jeo-Jade company. 

1937 Kucova oil field

The famous eight wheels eight pumps mechanism in 1937 Kucova oil field newly constucted by Italian company AIPA

The history of discovering petroleum in Albania

The surface occurrences of bitumen in the southern part of Albania have already been known from the ancient Romans and Greeks.
 The existence of the bitumen in the Selenica region had been merely forgotten up to 1875 when the Turkish Government granted the right for exploitation of Selenica’s bitumen to French Company, which commercially mined and exported to France as asphalt for road construction until the year 1918.
During the period of time from 1806 till 1913 some foreign geologists (Austrian and Italian) performed systematic field mapping, stratigraphic and tectonic studies especially for the southern and western part of Albania.
During 1905-1913, NOPCSA.F (Austrian geologist) compiled for the first time the geological map for the Northern Albania at scale 1:200000 and published a monograph study on the south Albania Geology and Geography. At this time NOVAK.E made the geological mapping at scale 1:75000 for the Mallakastra, Elbasani and for the region between Tirana and Durresi.
The oil seep observed at Drashovica near to Vlora city, led to the first drilling in 1918 which results positive for oil bearing from the sandstones of the Oligocene flysch. The well from a depth of approximately 100m for two years produced some 20-30bbld (approximately 3 ton/day).
This encouraging success had in the mean time attracted world wide attention and in 1925-1926 the Albanian Government awarded some concessions to Italian, French, British and American companies.
Intensive drilling over the next few years were focused mainly on the areas of the surface seepages and bitumen impregnations, which led to the discovery of Patosi oil filed (1926) and Kucova oil field(1926) within the Miocene sandstones which are onlaping the older carbonate rocks.
The development of Kucova oil filed started in 1935 and the normal production from Patosi oil filed commenced in 1939.
After the Second World War, oil production reached at 10000 ton/year growing rapidly approximately at 320 000 ton/year at 1950’s.
In 1950 Russian technicians and equipments entered in the country and onshore seismic started for the fist time in 1951. In 1957 the Marinza oil filed was discovered which considerably increased the oil production.
During the early 1960’s the seismic survey began to reveal a more realistic picture of the subsurface structures, which led to the first significant oil discoveries within deeper seated carbonate reservoirs such as: Visoka (1963), Gorisht (1966) Ballshi (1967). As result of the new discoveries were brought on stream and the maximum oil production at 1974 reached 2 250 000 ton/year.
A new play type was also revealed by the seismic in molasses resulting in the first gas discovery in Divjaka gas field (1963) within the Miocene sands, followed by the Frakulla gas field (1965)...
For political reasons the Russian assistance was discontinued in 1961 and was replaced by the Chinese aid in 1971, which lasted until 1978. By that time the Albanian oil production leveled at about 2 million ton/year (about 40000 bbl/d).
As a result of several geological surveys at different scale (1:500000, 1:25000) and based on stratigraphic, thematic studies covering the most of the Albanian territory, the Geological and Tectonic map of Albania at scale 1:200 000 was compiled and edited in 1983.
During the 80’s an intensive exploration was conducted by the Albanian state company DPNG in the Ionian zone and in he coastal plain of Peri Adriatic Depression. This led to several additional gas discoveries such as Ballaj-Kryevidh 1983, Durresi 1986, Povelca 1987, and Panaja 1988 and to the discovery of the Delvina gas condensate field in the south of Albania.
After 1990 Albania opened to the foreign investments and several Western companies started Oil and Gas exploration both in offshore and onshore Albania.
A considerable volume of 2D new seismic was acquired with a high quality and several exploratory wells were drilled.
First Discovery in Offshore Albania (though it was considered non commercial) is related to the A4-1x well, drilled in 1993 by AGIP and Chevron in Adriatiku-4 block, where condensate and biogenic gas was proved during the testing in the Upper Miocene sands.
Fisrt Discovery in onshore Albania made from the foreign companies happened in December 2001, when OCCCIDENTAL declared “Shpiragu Discovery” after drilling and testing of the Shpiragu-1 well in Sqepuri subthrust structure located in Block 2 onshore. Shpiragu-1 well proved light oil (370 API) form the fractured reservoir of Eocene-Upper Cretaceous.