BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25. Albania, Turkey and Azerbaijan may build together a new refinery, said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on the sidelines of his visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
“On the one hand, we will closely work on Albania’s gasification project and start of tangible work on the Ionian-Adriatic gas pipeline project would be an extremely important initial step as this pipeline, through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will connect Albania with the region’s upper part, namely Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, practically turning Albania into a major gas distribution hub. On the other hand, we have also discussed ways to sit together, the Albanian, Azerbaijani and Turkish experts to explore the possibility of building a new refinery,” he told Albanian media.
Rama noted that an important initial step will be taken in Tirana very soon in terms of delivering on the new chapter on closer cooperation in the area of providing gas supply to Albania and the region, as well as consequently regarding extension of Albania’s internal gas supply network.
As the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP has the capacity to transport approximately 10 billion cubic meters of gas per annum (bcm/a) to several markets in Europe. The pipeline is also designed with the potential to expand its throughput capacity up to 20 bcm/a.
TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe and essential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe’s energy security, supply diversification, as well as decarbonisation objectives.
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of bp (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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