Baku, Azerbaijan, March 4
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) has awarded the contracts for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of approximately 760km of cross-country onshore pipeline in Greece and Albania, TAP reported on March 4.
TAP's construction is split into five lots - three lots in Greece and two lots in Albania.
The joint venture comprised of Italian Bonatti S.p.A and Greek J&P AVAX S.A has been awarded the EPC contract for two lots in northern Greece. The sections cover approximately 360km of pipeline, stretching between Kavala and Ieropigi (Albanian border).
French SPIECAPAG has been awarded the EPC contract for a 185km lot in Greece, between Kipoi and Kavala, as well as two lots in Albania (215km in total), stretching from Bilisht to Topoje. SPIECAPAG will also carry out the pipeline river crossing at the Greek-Turkish border, where TAP will be connecting to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).
Selected mobilisation of the EPC contractors will continue in the second quarter of 2016, in line with the project's schedule to begin construction activities mid-2016.
The TAP pipeline is meant to transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan to Europe. The approximately 870 km long TAP 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.
TAP's shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).