Tuesday, December 17, 2013

TAP agreement signed



TAP agreement signed
The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama,  signed today in Baku, Azerbaijan, the final agreement for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project.

According to the Azeri news agency, “Trend”, the Albanian Prime Minister considered TAP an opportunity to develop the markets in Albania and to spread the gas network in the entire region.

“TAP is a huge project that will take extraordinary proportions when it will give new opportunities for our joint projects between Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro for promoting IAP, which will spread gas in new markets. For Albania, TAP is not just a series of opportunities, but it also brings a series of obligations. Our government will present the necessary humana nd material capacities, and also the legal base for guaranteeing success with this project. We will see TAP not only as a different chance for developing the success of this project, but also as a different opportunity for developing the markets in Albania. We want to be promotors of the gas network for several countries in the region which don’t have the necessary infrastructure for these markets”, Rama declared.

After signing this agreement, the TAP shareholders announced the start of a new phase, the construction of the pipeline on terrain. SOCAR, Statoil, BP, Fluxys, Total, EON and Axpo approved the decision that gives way to the implementation of the project, starting from 2014.

The management director of TAP, Kjetil Tungland, declared that now they are aiming to build a pipe system within the deadlines and budget limits. He says that TAP and Shah Deniz will guarantee diversity and safety in Europe’s gas supply, and that it will reinforce the strategic significance of these countries.

Azerbaijan announced the selection of TAP project by June 2014. The 870 km long system will be connected with the TANAP pipeline close to the Greek-Turkish border, in Kipoi, and will go through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Southern Italy. The Minister of Energy says that the first phase of construction in the Albanian side will start with the roads, in June 2014.

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