TIRANA, Sept. 9 – With the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline in its Albanian section already underway, the Albanian government has drafted a new bill regulating the gas sector in the country as Albania prepares to become a regional gas hub from the TAP project bringing Caspian gas to Europe.
The bill also targets Albania’s gasification so that the country can benefit from cheaper gas prices ahead of the first gas flows in 2020.
Introducing the bill at the trade parliamentary commission this week, Energy Minister Damian Gjiknuri said the gas infrastructure will initially be made available to big consumers before continuing with households.
“When the TAP project is complete Albania will not only be a transit gas country, part of a very important corridor such as the Southern Corridor, but also has the potential to establish a natural gas market which means that gas will be used as a source of energy by both households and industries,” said Gjiknuri.
The minister said several transmission system operators will be licensed to liberalize the market.
The new bill has been upgraded to meet the EU’s Third Energy Package legislation.
“The goal of this law is guaranteeing sustainable and secure supply of natural gas for customers, by establishing a competitive market integrated with regional and European markets, for a high quality service at reasonable costs while respecting requirements for the protection of the environment,” says the bill submitted to parliament.
The law applies to the transmission, distribution, trade, storage, consumption as well as the construction and operation of the natural gas infrastructure, excluding the activity of the exploration and production of natural gas which is supervised by the National Agency for Natural Resources.
Two years after it was announced the winning project to bring Caspian gas to Europe, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline has officially launched its works in the Albanian section with the construction of access roads and bridges.
The pipeline in Albania will be approximately 211 km long, starting at Bilisht Qendà«r in the Korça region, on the border with Greece. TAP’s landfall in Albania will be located 17 km north-west of Fier, up to 400 metres inland from the shoreline. The offshore section in Albanian territorial waters will be about 37 km.
TAP which is expected to bring gas to Europe through Greece, Albania and Italy will generate one of that Albania’s largest FDI projects, with important benefits for a number of industries, including manufacturing, utilities and transport, experts say.
The European Union and the Azerbaijani government are assisting Albania in the country’s gasification ahead of the first gas flows in 2020.
With domestic electricity generation 100 percent dependent on hydropower plants and rainfall, TAP would be another opportunity to diversify generation especially in the newly-built Vlora thermal power plant which although made available for use since more than one year has not been made operational because of its high cost on fuel operation. TAP would also help the country’s gasification by offering gas, already massively used as a cheaper alternative to electricity for cooking and heating, although the country’s buildings lack gas infrastructure. The passing of the oil pipeline through Albania would also pave the way for the construction of the Ionian-Adriatic pipeline making Albania a gas hub to other Balkan regional countries, experts say.
“Albania should not lose its chance and the country should not suffice with the fact that a gas pipeline passes through which is very important strategically. We are working to get huge economic benefits from gas,” Energy Minister Damian Gjiknuri has earlier noted
