Baku, Azerbaijan, June 5
By Aygun Badalova -Trend:
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) continues its pre-qualification of potential suppliers for the construction of the 870km-long high pressure natural gas pipeline with its associated infrastructure across Greece, Albania, and Adriatic Sea with landfall in Southern Italy, TAP reported on June 5.
This week TAP has issued its third contract notice for the construction of compressor stations in Greece and Albania. Two compressor stations will be necessary for transporting 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year along the entire pipeline route from east to west.
The scope for this contract will include the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of one compressor station in Albania near Fier and one compressor station in Greece near Kipoi.
The current pre-qualification is the third one, following contract notices on construction of Albanian roads and bridges and onshore pipeline construction services in Greece and Albania.
The TAP project was selected by the consortium of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field development as the transportation route to the European markets.
The long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
Construction of the pipeline is planned to start in 2016.
The initial capacity of the pipeline will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it can easily be expanded to 20 billion cubic meters per year.
TAP's shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Statoil (20 percent), Fluxys (16 percent), Total (10 percent), E.ON (9 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).