"Albanian government has approved the results of the feasibility study of the master plan for this country’s gasification. The process of contractor selection will begin soon. SOCAR Balkan is considering different forms of participation in this process," he said.

Heydarov added that at the same time, the company plans to carry out a detailed engineering design of the pipeline between the cities of Fier (Trans Adriatic Pipeline compressor Station (TAP) in Albania) and Vlora.

Further, speaking about the work under the letter of intent signed with the Albanian company Albgaz on providing engineering design services, he noted that the timing of this work was changed at the request of Albgaz due to the need to first select a contractor for the construction of this pipeline.

SOCAR Balkans and Albania’s Albgaz company signed a letter of intent in February 2018 on providing engineering design services in Albania.

A gas pipeline will be built between the Albanian cities of Fier and Vlora in order to ensure gas supply to Albania as part of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

The Pre-FEED (preliminary front end engineering design) of this pipeline will be carried out by SOCAR Balkans.

A memorandum of understanding on cooperation in developing a master plan for Albania’s gasification was signed between Baku and Tirana in December 2014.

Albania is one of the European countries that will receive Azerbaijani gas via the Southern Gas Corridor.

Southern Gas Corridor envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

On May 29 2018, Baku hosted the launch ceremony of the first phase of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.

The Southern Gas Corridor project aims to increase and diversify European energy supply by bringing gas resources from the Caspian Sea to markets in Europe. The Southern Gas Corridor comprises the following four projects: (i) operation of Shah Deniz natural gas-condensate field ("SD1" project) and its full-field development ("SD2'" project), (ii) the operation of the South Caucasus Pipeline ("SCP" project) and its expansion ("SCPX" project), (iii) the construction of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline ("TANAP" project) and (iv) the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline ("TAP" project) (SD2, SCPX, TANAP and TAP collectively, the "Projects").

The Projects have an estimated investment cost of approximately $40 billion.

Upon completion, the SD2 project will add a further 16 bcm of natural gas per annum to 10.9 bcma (maximum production capacity) already produced under SD1 project.

Total length of the newly constructed SCPX, TANAP and TAP pipelines will be around 3,206 kilometers.

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