Baku, Azerbaijan, June 4
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
The construction work on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is being prepared, it will begin in 2016, TAP's Managing Director Kjetil Tungland said at the 21st Caspian International Oil and Gas Conference in Baku on June 4.
"We are now in the process of securing the access to the lands. The next step will be awarding the necessary contracts. We will start inviting for bids this summer", he said.
Meanwhile in 2015 the construction activities will start with the upgrade and construction of access roads and bridges in Albania, and this will be followed by the pipeline laying and construction of other facilities associated with this gas transportation infrastructure.
Tungland stressed that it is important to develop the whole Southern Gas Corridor chain step by step.
He said that TAP explores all supply opportunities, adding that Italy is not only market in the supply chain.
"Italy is interconnected with other European gas markets and it is important that these interconnections are in place," he said.
The TAP project was selected by the consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development as the transportation route to the European markets.
The approximately 870 km long 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.
Construction of the pipeline will be split into five lots - three in Greece and two in Albania. 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).
Tungland further noted that Albania is a fascinating market, yet the country doesn't have any gas networks, and it is essential to establish them.
"TAP supports Albanian government in this initiative," he said, adding that more potential partners are welcomed to join the process.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) last year expressed interest in creating a gas infrastructure in Albania. Albanian leadership, in turn, has stated that the construction of a gas transportation infrastructure in the country is a priority, and welcomed SOCAR's intentions.