Baku, Azerbaijan, May 10
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) expects the schedule of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline's (TAP) construction to be stuck to, despite any difficulties, a source in SOCAR told Trend May 10.
"According to the schedule, the construction should be completed before early 2020, when the gas supplies to the European consumers start," the source said. "SOCAR expects that this schedule will be stuck to, in spite of any difficulties that emerged or may emerge in the project's implementation."
"Of course, we would like TAP to be built with expenses less than those budgeted," the source said, speaking about SOCAR's expectations regarding the project expenses. "Life will show whether that is possible or not."
A groundbreaking ceremony for TAP will be held May 17 in Thessaloniki, Greece.
TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries.
The 870-kilometer pipeline will be connected to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south.
TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year, expandable to 20 billion cubic meters.
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