Asked about the increase in the price of oil, the Prime Minister Rama said that, “it is true that, today the price of oil has increased significantly. But the prices of oil and gasoline in 2013 were higher.

“The price of gasoline is not determined by the State. I must make it clear to everyone. The State has nothing to do with the price of gasoline. It is determined by the market. We have chosen this system. In 2013, the prices of oil, diesel and gasoline were higher. Although, within the price of oil, there are two more components, the turnover tax, as well as the carbon tax. The price of oil is lower today than in the previous years,” the Prime Minister Rama stressed.

“Albania does not produce enough oil. The oil produced in Albania is heavy crude oil, with a high sulfur content, which is sold mainly to the international market by private producers, mainly for by-products, for industrial use such as bitumen,” he said.

“Albania imports 600 thousand tons of oil from the international market. And when I say Albania, I mean private entities that import it. To the best of my knowledge, there is no democratic place where oil is produced by the State, sold by the State, distributed by the State through gas stations,” the premier Rama said.

“We are on the right path to move forward with our plan. There is still no perspective on energy sovereignty. We must make it sovereign. The sales and purchases must be dictated by Albania itself. This can be reached through investment in Skavica HPP, investments in programmable resource. Which is the programmable resource? It is import of liquefied natural gas from American (LNG) to Albania. Work is already underway. By investing in solar energy, we are making the first investment in wind energy,” the Prime Minister Rama said.  //a.i/