The governments of Kosovo and Albania signed two memorandums on cooperation in the energy field about the development of the Vlora LNG terminal and for electricity exchange.
State-owned power utilities Kosovo Energy Corp. (KEK) and KESH agreed to exchange electricity, secure storage and diversify energy sources. Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania Belinda Balluku said the two companies have been successfully cooperating since last winter and that the aim is to overcome the energy crisis as easily as possible.
The other memorandum is for cooperation in the development of a project for a terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Vlora in Albania.
Kosovo’s Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli stressed that as the construction of the pipeline infrastructure would take a lot of time Kosovo considers buying a share in a planned power plant that would use the fuel or secure a long-term electricity supply contract. She added that this would allow Kosovo to receive electricity within two years while building the pipeline and the generation capacity would take at least eight to nine years.
US-based Excelerate and ExxonMobile agreed a year ago with Albania to build the LNG terminal in the port of Vlora. In April, the CEO of Excelerate Energy said he hopes to use the project to expand into other countries in the region adding that they hope it will lead to the opportunity to deliver natural gas and sell natural gas into Europe from that access.
In May, the Albanian Minister of Energy paid a visit to the US and confirmed that ExxonMobil remains committed to the project for the Vlora TPP, which has already turned into an ambitious regional project.
