Azerbaijan, Baku, March 21 / Trend A. Badalova /
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) officially submitted its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) to the ministry of environment in Italy, TAP reported on Wednesday.
The ESIA document outlines the project's most recent configuration in Italy, explaining its potential impact on the local environment, as well as proposed measures to avoid or mitigate negative effects and enhance the pipeline's positive impact.
The ESIA report was prepared in accordance with Italian law and in line with the Environmental and Social Policy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), TAP says.
TAP is one of the projects within the Southern Gas Corridor, which is designed to transport gas produced during the second phase of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into western Europe. Earlier this month, the Shah Deniz Consortium announced TAP as its chosen route for export of the Azerbaijani gas to Italy.
TAP's Italian section will consist of a 5 km onshore and 45 km offshore pipeline, stretching to a Pipeline Receiving Terminal in the province of Lecce.
Construction of TAP is expected to start in 2015, should the project be selected as the preferred gas transportation solution by Shah Deniz consortium.
The initial pipeline capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic metres per year, expandable to 20 billion cubic metres per year. TAP's shareholders are EGL of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent).