Baku, Azerbaijan, March 18
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Changes in the route of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the TAP, are not ruled out in case of strong reactions by local communities in Greece, said Greece's productive reconstruction, environment and energy minister, Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Greek media reported.
He said the Greek government supports the project because it will benefit the country.
Lafazanis added that his ministry agreed with TAP to set up a joint committee to examine the proposals for offset benefits to Greece from the TAP consortium.
The minister also said the privatization of the Greek natural gas system operator DESFA hasn't yet been completed.
He added that the procedures for the sale of a 66-percent share in DESFA to SOCAR have advanced, adding that the Greek government's future stance will depend on the pending European Competition Commission findings.
Earlier, Lafazanis said the Greek government supports the construction of TAP, however wants to get more benefits from gas transit through Greece's territory. Yet, he said in February that the Greek government will support the construction of the TAP and the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) and that Greece will work on the swiftest possible completion of these projects.
Lafazanis, during a recent visit to Azerbaijan, mulled the possible benefits of Greece from TAP's construction with a number of Azerbaijani officials, noting that he is open for discussing the issue.
TAP was chosen by the consortium developing Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field as a route for transportation of gas to markets in Europe. The project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to the southern Italy and further to the Western Europe. The pipeline's total length will be about 870 kilometers.
Its construction is expected to kick off in 2016.
TAP shares are held by BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (five percent).
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov