Baku, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will not have any negative impact on the environment, Michele Mario Elia, TAP's country manager for Italy said at the expert meeting on environmental and climate issues in Italy, Italian media outlets reported.
Michele Mario Elia noted that TAP will link Italy with Azerbaijan's gas fields and bring about 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year and energy independence to Italy. Meanwhile he noted that the Ministry of the Environment guarantees that the pipeline will not have impact or have consequences for the territories that it crosses.
The country manager also reminded that the TAP consortium was granted permits for the construction from the authorities of Apulia region.
Michele Mario Elia also noted that TAP has no contraindication from the point of safety as it uses the the same technologies and standards as the 35,000-kilometers long gas network already operating in Italy.
TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
The pipeline will connect 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 will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).