Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.1
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
The European Commission is considering whether to include the Tesla gas pipeline project into its list of so called "Project of Common Interests" (PCIs).
"The European Commission is currently in the process of updating its list of so called "Project of Common Interests" (PCIs) in the field of energy infrastructure," the source in the European Commission told Trend.
"The Tesla project has applied for PCI status," the source added.
The second list, according to the source, will be presented by the Commission by the end of this year.
Tesla is a proposed gas pipeline with a length of 1,300-1,400 km and the estimated capacity of 27 billion cubic meters, which is designed be laid from Turkey across Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, ending in the Baumgarten gas hub in Austria.
Reportedly, the foreign ministers of Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece might sign a memorandum this autumn for construction of Tesla pipeline, which is also considered as a continuation of the Russian-initiated 'Turkish Stream'.
The European Commission approved the first list of "Projects of Common Interest" in October 2013. It included 250 key energy infrastructure projects, including the projects of the Southern Gas Corridor.
In particular, the European Commission has included two routes of gas transportation to the European markets in the list, namely, a supply route to the countries of South-Eastern Europe and Austria, as well as a supply route to Italy across the Adriatic Sea. The list includes such projects as the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), the South Caucasus Pipeline expansion project (SCP), the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Interconnector Turkey - Greece - Italy (ITGI), a gas pipeline from Bulgaria to Austria via Romania and Hungary.
According to the European Commission's report, the identification of PCIs is based on a regional approach and is carried out by Regional Groups consisting of representatives of competent ministries, national regulatory authorities and the gas and electricity transmission system operators and project promoters, the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO) for electricity and gas, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators and the European Commission.
Project promoters submit the electricity, gas and oil project proposals for which they want to obtain the status of PCI to the Regional Groups for assessment.
Regional Groups then will evaluate the projects against the general and specific criteria as defined in the Regulation assessing especially the contribution of the projects to market integration, sustainability, security of supply and competition.