Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 5 / Trend A.Badalova/
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is confident that it will submit a compelling bid to the Shah Deniz Consortium in March and that, as a result, will be chosen as the preferred and final pipeline option to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
In his article, published on TAP official website Kjetil Tungland, TAP Managing Director said that on March 31,2013 TAP will submit its "Decision Support Package" to the Shah Deniz Consortium.
TAP project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. Gas to be produced within the second phase of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development is considered as the main source for TAP.
Currently, the Shah Deniz consortium is considering two options for its gas transportation to Europe - TAP and Nabucco West. The final decision on the pipeline route will be made in June, 2013.
Earlier BP's Vice President for Shah Deniz Development, Al Cook said that April 1 is the deadline for Nabucco West and TAP projects to submit their offers to the Shah Deniz consortium.
Tungland believes that TAP pipeline is now the largest and most strategic of the two proposed pipelines bringing Shah Deniz gas to European markets.
Among the advantages of TAP Tungland mentioned technical and commercial expertise of project's shareholders, the position of TAP as the only pipeline that is not dependent on public money, the political support, the early stage at which TAP have completed its agreements with the Shah Deniz consortium, as well as the shortest route, which is the most economical and most direct to the largest European markets.
According to Tungland, when the first Shah Deniz gas becomes available in 2018, TAP will be ready to receive it.
TAP's current shareholders are AXPO of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent). The pipeline's initial pipeline capacity will be 10 billion cubic metres per year, but is easily expandable to 20 billion cubic metres per year.