Albanian parliament approves intergovernmental TAP agreement

By AzerNews

Albania's parliament on Monday unanimously ratified the intergovernmental agreement signed with Italy and Greece on the construction and operation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, TAP's website said.

Signed in Athens on February 13, 2013, the agreement confirmed the three host countries' support for TAP and their cooperation for the project's timely implementation.

The ratification of the Intergovernmental Agreement follows the finalization of the Host Government Agreement initialed in the Albanian capital Tirana by TAP's Managing Director Kjetil Tungland and Albania's Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy Edmond Haxhinasto on January 18, 2013.

As the project progresses, the Host Government Agreement sets out the parameters of engagement between TAP and the Albanian government, such as permitting process, implementation of technical and safety standards or land easement procedure.

According to TAP's Managing Director, the ratification of the Intergovernmental Agreement represents a key element in TAP's Decision Support Package submission to the consortium developing Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas condensate field at the end of this month, ensuring a compelling offer.

Michael Hoffmann, External Affairs Director for TAP, said that ratification of the Intergovernmental Agreement by the Albanian parliament demonstrates once again TAP's increasingly advanced status.

"It is important to underline that the parliament gave its unanimous approval for the IGA. This is extremely rare and once again illustrates the very strong commitment of the Albanian authorities in making TAP a reality," he said.

The TAP project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into western Europe. TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it is easily expandable to 20 billion cubic meters.

TAP's shareholders are AXPO of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent).