BAKU, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's state energy companySOCAR plans to draft a feasibility study on an Albanian andMontenegrin gas infrastructure plan as part of European effortsto reduce dependence on gas from Russia.
Albania and Azerbaijan signed a preliminary agreement inDecember 2014 to cooperate in developing an Albanian gas grid asthe Balkan country leads construction of the European section ofa project to bring Azeri gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.
The so-called southern corridor will bring gas to Turkey andGreece, as well as to Italy via Albania and the Adriatic Sea.
"We were working on Albania's gasification project.Montenegro has recently joined this process and we now plan toprepare the feasibility study on this major project," SOCAR'spresident, Rovnag Abdullayev, told reporters on Thursday.
Azeri gas could reach southern Europe by the end of thisdecade through the proposed Trans Adriatic Pipeline and theTrans Anatolian Pipeline.
These pipelines would carry billions of cubic metres of gasa year from Shah Deniz II, one of the world's largest gasfields, which is being developed by a BP-led consortium. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze;Editing by Dale Hudson)