Tirana Discussing Possible Cooperation in Oil Production, Refining with SOCAR – Albanian Energy Ministry
Albania is negotiating with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) on cooperation in oil production and refining, Albanian Deputy Infrastructure and Energy Minister Ceno Klosi said.
“The gas infrastructure development of Korca is our first project [implemented with Azerbaijan]. However, we are already discussing other areas of collaboration – in upstream (oil production) and downstream (oil refining) sectors,” Klosi told Azerbaijani media in Tirana.
“Albania has strategic partners, but we also view Azerbaijan, with its vast experience in this field, as one. Therefore, we are currently exploring opportunities for oil production, and in the future, refining. There are some discussions about existing resources already in operation, but we are still at the preliminary stage of these talks,” he said.
The initial phase of the Korca gas infrastructure development project – the preparation of a business plan for the pilot Nur project – is nearing completion, he said.
Gas infrastructure development is important for the country, he said. The Nur project represents a test, he said.
“We are using the pilot gas infrastructure development project in Korca as a test for both our legislation and Albania’s gas infrastructure development regulations,” he said.
Other potential areas of cooperation with SOCAR in gas infrastructure development are also under discussion, he said. “As I mentioned, this is a small project, and we certainly won’t stop here. We are already exploring new areas. For example, in Vlore, we have another potential connection point – a coastal zone currently developing as a tourist destination, where demand for gas will be high. We are also reviewing several gas power plant projects with SOCAR,” he said.
Starting January 2026, Albania will receive gas via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) for the first time, he said.
“We consider Azerbaijan one of our closest strategic partners, especially in the energy sector. Our country is developing rapidly in energy, but frankly, we lag in the gas sector. We are fortunate that the TAP pipeline passes through Albania, but we are not yet utilizing this resource. That’s why we are pleased that, thanks to cooperation with Azerbaijan, this will become the first project enabling Albania to use gas as an energy source,” he said.
As reported, in November 2024, on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku, SOCAR signed a memorandum of understanding with the Albanian Infrastructure and Energy Ministry and Albgaz to develop gas infrastructure in Korca. In February 2025, SOCAR opened an office in Albania and signed a cooperation agreement with Albgaz to begin project implementation. The feasibility study is already complete. The presentation of the Nur project, which involves building gas distribution infrastructure in Korca, took place in Albania on April 19.
The project’s investment is estimated at around 21 million. It will be implemented by SOCAR using Azerbaijani investments, focusing on creating a gas distribution network connected to the TAP offtake point. Plans include expanding the project to the cities of Pogradec and Erseka.
With TAP’s expansion by 1.2 billion cubic meters annually, starting January 2026, Albania will receive 200 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas per year, while Italy will purchase an additional 1 billion cubic meters.
