Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.14
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The office of the consortium for construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has been attacked in Italy on the night to Feb.13, Italian media reported.
Reportedly, a group of unknown persons threw two Molotov cocktails at the TAP office in Italy’s Melendugno city.
The office wall was blackened, as one of the cocktails exploded.
Currently, police are investigating the incident with the help of CCTV cameras installed nearby.
Commenting on the issue, TAP Manager for Italy Michele Elia said that the work underway on the project for construction of TAP, which is a strategic project for Italy.
“We condemn any acts of violence. Perpetrators should be punished in accordance with the law,” he added.
This is not the first incident against the TAP project. In March 2015, the TAP office was attacked in Italy and the work as part of the project was suspended for some time due to the incident.
TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union.
TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries.
The pipeline will be connected to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south.
TAP shareholders are BP (20 percent), State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 km, Albania 215 km, Adriatic Sea 105 km, and Italy 8 km). Its highest point will be 1,800 meters in Albania’s mountains, while its lowest point will be 820 meters beneath the sea.
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