TIRANA, Feb. 17 – The Energy Ministry and Azeri company SOCAR have held in Tirana a seminar on the feasibility of the master plan for a new gas network in Albania.
The country is part of the TAP project bringing the gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Albania and Greece, and Albania is getting ready to also build a gas network to distribute it in the country, not only for businesses but also for families.
It has agreed with the Azeri government to get the assistance from SOCAR, a state-owned company.
In February last year, the ministry had applied and has got the answer from the Western Balkans Investment Framework that it is funding with 1.1 million euro a gas master plan for Albania.
Minister Damian Gjiknuri said that the gas market should be enlarged in Albania to include investors.
“Including investors will come when they are clear there is a possible market, there are consumers and … there is a plan.”
Albania hopes to have the plan implemented by 2020, when TAP starts operations. The pipeline construction starts this year.
“Albania is a very important partner for the gas corridor, and I would say that project is profitable for Europe and for Albania too,” said Murad Heydarov, a SOCAR representative.
Participants in the seminar were also representatives from Shell, British Petroleum, WBIF, TAP AG, KESH, Albpetrol, ECS, DG Energy and the EBRD.
