SOCAR Signs Memorandum with Balkan States on Pipeline IAP
Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro have signed a memorandum of understanding with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) for the construction of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), said on Saturday the Croatian media.
The document was signed in the framework of the forum, which was held in Dubrovnik on 25-26 August.
The document was signed by SOCAR Balkan CEO Murad Heydarov.
IAP will be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), intended for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, in the Albanian city of Fier.
IAP will provide the delivery of Azerbaijani gas to several countries of South-Eastern Europe.
The pipeline, 516 kilometres in length, will pass through Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and will end in Croatia.
The pipeline capacity will be 5 billion cubic meters per year.
‘We have identified a joint initiative of the Ionian-Adriatic gas pipeline. We hope that the route will connect the north and south, and will contribute to the full liberalization of the European gas market,’ the Minister of Economy of Croatia Tomislav Panenik said.
The Minister of Foreign Trade of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Sarovich noted that their main condition was laying the gas pipeline on the territory of the country: ‘We hope that the site will pass through the Neumsky corridor.’ The Minister stressed that his country supports the regional project.
The Deputy Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania Ilir Beitya reported that the forum in Dubrovnik emphasized safety in the area of gas supply. In addition to the diversification of the sources, the project will help stabilize gas supplies, he added.
Recall that the organizers of the TAP pipeline have already signed a memorandum with the developers of IAP, in particular, with the companies Plinacro (Croatia), BH-Gas (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Geoplin Plinovodi (Slovenia), as well as with the governments of Montenegro and Albania.
A working group of TAP and IAP has been formed and regular meetings are held, where technical sides and timing of the projects are coordinated. -12D--
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