Good-will agreement for westbound gas pipeline signed

A goodwill agreement was penned Friday for a proposed westbound pipeline that would carry natural gas from the Caspian basin, starting from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and further to Western Europe. The agreement was penned by by Albanian Foreign Minister Aldo Bumci, Montenegro's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Integration Igor Luksic, Bosnia&Herzegovina's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, and Croatia's Deputy Foreign Minister Yoshko Kliso on Friday in a ceremony in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the project was carried out successfully and it would provide the region's gas demand. "The balanced distribution of the gas is extremely important both for Europe and the Balkans. The project will also contribute to efforts to overcome regional disparities," Berisha said. TAP supports European Union's strategic goal of securing future energy supply. TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan. The project is designed to expand the transportation capacity from 10 to 20 billion cubic meter per year, depending on supply and demand.