Albania, Greece, Italy Sign TAP MoU

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project has got a boost of support this week with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Albania, Italy and Greece for the project.

The MoU, signed yesterday evening, the TAP consortium said today, was signed at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The signing of the deal forms the basis for the construction of the pipeline through the signing countries and will form the basis of the legal framework for the project.

Managing Director of TAP, Kjetil Tungland, says that the agreement furthers the project and is an important step for all involved.

"Today’s signing follows a number of major milestones that TAP has achieved this year, including being the first pipeline to be selected by the Shah Deniz Consortium in February, a Cooperation Agreement with the consortium in June and the Funding Agreement with BP, SOCAR and Total that was signed in August," he said. "We are working to further progress the project in the coming months."

Today, EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger also welcomed the signing today, saying the pipeline, which will transport 20 billion cubic metres of gas a year, would be important in achieving the EU's plans for energy security.

"This is another important step towards our aim to get gas directly from the Caspian Region," he said.