Azerbaijan, Baku, March 7 / Trend A.Badalova /
The cooperation between the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and Trans Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) projects is another milestone to further progress the realisation of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP Managing Director Kjetil Tungland said.
"I am delighted that TAP and TANAP have joined forces and are closely working together. It is vital that all links in the value chain across the Southern Gas Corridor cooperate with one another to ensure that Shah Deniz II gas is able to flow to Europe," Tungland said in a statement, published on TAP official website.
TAP reports that on November 22, 2012, TAP and TANAP signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, which establishes a technical and commercial cooperation between the two parties and formalises a mutual framework and forum for coordinated activities and exchanges of information.
According to the report, TAP and TANAP have established a joint working group and both parties have held regular meetings in Ankara, since the signing of the MoU to further evaluate areas of potential cooperation between the parties.
"This includes working together to align overall project schedules, understand the technical requirements of each project, identify and manage technical interfaces and liaise with host governments in relation to regulatory matters," the report said.
Currently, the Shah Deniz consortium considers 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.
This week Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH announcd the signing a Memorandum of Understanding and Co-operation with TANAP.
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. TAP's initial pipeline capacity will be 10 billion cubic metres per year, but it is easily expandable to 20 billion cubic metres per year. TAP's shareholders are AXPO of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent).
In case of choosing TAP as a final pipeline route to transport Azerbaijani gas to Europe, the construction of the pipeline will start in 2015.
TANAP project envisages gas transportation from Shah Deniz field to Europe via Turkey. The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters per year. Around 6 billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest - to Europe.