Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 24
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Greece's Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) granted Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) a license for an Independent Natural Gas System (INGS), TAP reported on September 24.
The license refers to the Greek section of the project. The term of the license is 50 years.
The INGS license gives TAP the necessary approval for activities related to the construction of the pipeline such as installation of the pipeline, compressor and metering stations, block valve stations and other equipment.
The TAP project was selected by the consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development as the transportation route to the European markets.
The pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in southern Italy. The first gas sales to Georgia and Turkey are targeted for late 2018, first deliveries to Europe will follow approximately a year later.
The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it can easily be expanded to 20 billion cubic meters per year. TAP's shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (16 percent), Total (10 percent), E.ON (9 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).