Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Direct deliveries of Azerbaijani gas in the amount of one billion cubic meters to Greece via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will begin in 2021, the Natural Gas Europe portal reported with reference to Kostas Andriosopoulos, senior advisor to the new CEO and the chairman of DEPA Greek Public Gas Corporation SA.
In accordance with the contract between DEPA and Turkish Botas, currently about 700 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas are annually re-exported to Greece.
Moreover, DEPA diversifying its gas portfolio will lead to better prices for retail customers - final consumers, Andriosopoulos said.
Having booked one billion cubic meters of capacity in the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), he said DEPA has shown its level of commitment to the project.
"It's part of our portfolio to have long-term contract supply agreements with Gazprom for about 65-67 percent of the quantities that we're buying today; we have an LNG contract with Sonatrech for about 700 million cubic meters equivalent; and another 700 million cubic meters per year from Botas, which is Azerbaijani gas," he said.
"If we are talking about the floating storage and regasification unit project (FSRU) in Alexandropolous, alongside the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) coming through it, we think that we can definitely enhance the position of the country within the region," he said.
He went on to add that both the Botas and Sonatrach contracts are expiring in 2021, which offers the opening for gas flows from TAP to fill the bill.
TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe.
The approximately 870 km long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
After closing the deal with Snam, the share distribution in TAP will be as follows: BP - 20 percent, SOCAR - 20 percent, Snam - 20 percent, Fluxys - 19 percent, Enagás - 16 percent, Axpo - five percent.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov