Albania, TAP waiting for Azerbaijan decision on gas project

TIRANA, Nov. 23 – Waiting for Azerbaijan’s decision on building the infrastructure to carry gas to Europe from the major Shah Deniz gas field, the Albanian government remains hopeful the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the only project including Albania in its route, will be announced the winner. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) announced this week that they have commenced the negotiation of a Host Government (Permit) Agreement (HGA), setting out the specific requirements to be followed throughout the project’s implementation. Kjetil Tungland, Managing Director of Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG says “TAP will make a significant contribution to the Albanian economy, both in terms of investment and the development of its energy infrastructure and supply. We look forward to progressing our talks and concluding an agreement.” The start of negotiations for a host government agreement is the latest in a number of positive developments for TAP in Albania this year. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is a natural gas pipeline project that will transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. Nabucco and the Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) are two other projects competing to bring gas from the Caspian region to Europe but do not include Albania in their projected route. A smaller, cheaper alternative, the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline could be the best choice to carry Caspian natural gas to Europe, Washington’s special envoy for Eurasian energy said last week in Baku as quoted by Euroasia Review. Richard Morningstar, the US envoy, told a news conference in the Azeri capital on 15 November that Nabucco still has Washington’s backing but economic concerns – including the potential to scale of the pipeline to available gas volumes – should take precedence. “It’s important if Shah Deniz producers and [Azeri state oil company] SOCAR choose a smaller pipeline as the first pipeline,” Morningstar said after meeting the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.