Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 25 / Trend /
Senior ministers from the Governments of Greece, Italy and Switzerland yesterday confirmed their countries' strategic interest in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), TAP said. At a high level meeting with representatives of the pipeline in Davos, Italian Minister for Economic Development Corrado Passera, Greek Deputy Minister of Economic Development Notis Mitarachi and Director of Swiss Federal Office of Energy Walter Steinmann again reiterated their commitment to the realisation of the TAP.
Also in attendance were the President of SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, the Chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON Ruhrgas AG, Klaus Schäfer, and CEO of Axpo Trading AG, Hans Schulz.
"We met in Davos to discuss the tremendous progress that TAP has made in the last few months, including concluding the Host Government Agreement with the Albanian Government on the 18th of January 2013," Kjetil Tungland, Managing Director of TAP, said.
"As shareholders in TAP we continue to strive to conclude all the necessary agreements with the Shah Deniz Consortium," Hans Schulz, Chairman of Axpo Trading and Chairman of the TAP Board of Directors, said. In November 2012 we finalized the last in a trio of agreements - the Shareholder Agreement. TAP already concluded the Cooperation Agreement in June 2012 and the Funding and Equity Agreement in August, again demonstrating how far advanced the project is."
"I believe that with the voiced support of the host countries TAP is now in a strong position to win the bid in June 2013," Klaus Schäfer, Chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON Ruhrgas AG, added. "I very much look forward to the conclusion of TAP's Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), due to be signed by the governments of Greece, Albania and Italy in February this year."
"I am very pleased to witness the strong commitment from all three governments to progress TAP," Rovnag Abdulayev, President of SOCAR, commented. "I believe the host governments of Italy, Greece and Albania are doing their utmost to expedite the agreements and permits necessary to make TAP a reality."
TAP will open the Southern Gas Corridor and contribute to the diversification of gas supplies to Europe. Gas transported via the pipeline will also be available on the Swiss market and beyond, significantly increasing security of supply for European consumers.
By mid-2013 the Shah Deniz consortium will make the final selection on their preferred gas transportation solution to Europe.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is a natural gas pipeline project. The pipeline will transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. The project is aimed at enhancing security of supply as well as diversification of gas supplies for the European markets. TAP will open a new so-called Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and establish a new market outlet for natural gas from the Caspian.
The project is designed to expand transportation capacity from 10 to 20 bcm per year. TAP also envisages physical reverse flow of up to 80 per cent and the option to develop natural gas storage facilities in Albania to further ensure security of supply during any operational interruption of gas deliveries.
TAP's shareholders are Axpo of Switzerland (42.5%), Norway's Statoil (42.5%) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15%).