SOCAR studies prospects for TAP gas pipeline project

Albania is interested in cooperation with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Albanian Foreign Minister Edmond Hacinasto said at a meeting with the SOCAR leadership today, the company reported.

Hacinasto said there is great potential for Azerbaijan-Albania cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

Albania attaches great importance to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas pipeline project to transport gas from the Caspian basin to Europe, he said.

SOCAR head Rovnag Abdullayev recalled Azerbaijan’s support of the South Energy Corridor Project. He said SOCAR is also closely examining the TAPN project.

TAP is part of the South Corridor project, and is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to Europe. The pipeline will begin in Greece and pass through Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy. The length of the pipeline is 520 kilometers. The initial capacity of the pipeline is 10 billion cubic meters, with a maximum of 20 billion cubic meters per year.

The estimated cost of the project is 1.5 billion euro. The shareholders are Norwegian Statoil (42.5 percent), Swiss EGL (42.5 percent) and German E.ON Ruhrgas (15 percent).


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