Italian natural gas grid operator Snam is to create a joint venture company with Albania'

Albgaz to help the southeast European country develop its gas market. 

Signs JV contract with Albgaz to operate, maintain gas grid Albania has limited gas dema

nd, but TAP to change dynamics Tirana approved Gas Master Plan in March this year 

In a statement late Monday, Snam said it had signed an agreement to create the JV with 

shared control "aimed at providing related services for the operation and maintenance of 

gas pipelines in Albania." 

View from the Top video -- An interview with Marco Alvera, Snam CEO 

The joint venture will be 75% owned by Albgaz -- created in 2017 to develop and manage 

infrastructure for the Albanian gas market -- and 25% by Snam. 

Albania -- which in the 1980s had gas production of up to 1 Bcm/year that was consumed 

mostly by the chemical fertilizer sector -- has effectively no gas demand at present and limi

ted infrastructure. 

In the power sector, 99% of Albania's power generation comes from renewables, hydro in 

particular, leaving the country exposed to the variability of the weather, according to indus

try officials. 

The signing of the joint venture contract follows the conclusion of an international tender 

called by Albgaz to select a qualified partner to support the company. 

It also follows the approval by the Albanian government in March this year of the country' 

Gas Master Plan -- designed to promote the fuel's use in Albania. 

Gas demand in Albania could reach 1.2 Bcm/year by 2020 and 2.2 Bcm/year by 2040 if 

Albania moves forward with the construction of gas-fired power generation projects, indu

stry officials believe. 

The Gas Master Plan was designed to identify "anchor points" -- places where gas-fired 

power generation facilities can be located -- and the pipelines that need to be built to con

nect those points.