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Trans Adriatic Pipeline and the government of Albania signed Thursday in Tirana, Albania a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation (MOUC) with a focus on exploring possibilities for connecting the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), a major regional natural gas project, to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline system at a tie-in point near Fier in Albania, pennenergy.com reported.

Earlier this year TAP signed similar agreements with other IAP participants, including Croatian gas system operator Plinacro Ltd, Bosnian gas system operator BH-Gas and the government of Montenegro. TAP supports the objectives of these countries in further developing the SEE regional gas market and integrating it to the EU energy market.

By having signed agreements with all four participants of the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline, TAP consolidates the framework necessary for the further development of the TAP and IAP’s interconnection. Next steps will include alignment of the projects’ schedules and technical specifications of the pipelines.

The IAP connection to TAP will provide SEE, a region heavily dependent on a single gas supplier, with new and reliable natural gas supplies from the Caspian region. What is more, it will bring major energy security and economic benefits to the region.

Recently, the significance of the IAP project was recognized by the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF), which decided to grant the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline project 3.5 million Euro for the execution of a feasibility study and environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The TAP consortium, comprised of European energy leaders Statoil, E.ON Ruhrgas and EGL, is aimed at constructing a natural gas pipeline via Greece, Albania and Italy to bring Caspian gas to Europe. The pipeline will be a key component in opening the European Union-designated Southern Gas Corridor. TAP is envisaged with reverse-flow capabilities that will also support reliability in the region in the event of energy supply disruptions.

Under the terms of the MOUC, a joint working group will be established immediately to further evaluate areas of potential cooperation, ranging from the alignment of overall schedules and shar-ing of best practice, to facilitating the mutual understanding of each project’s technical require-ments. This will include capacity needs, new construction and upgrades of existing infrastructure, the coordination of maintenance, and environmental and social impact assessments.

"The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania and the TAP project recognize the strategic importance of the Republic of Albania to turn into a hub for energy security in the European Union and to diversify the sources and gas supply targets," said Nasip Naco, Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania. "The TAP project investment is a very serious investment and it is estimated to be in the range of 1 billion euros, and it will bring multi-faceted benefits for all the countries it passes through. The potential arising from the possible connection of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline and the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline creates a positive synergy by making Albania a key hub for the gas networks in the South Eastern Europe."