Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
A working group has been created for the Vertical Gas Corridor project during the high-level group meeting of the Central and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity (CESEC) in Bucharest, Romania, said the message on the European Commission’s website.
“The meeting also saw the launch of two new working groups of the gas transmission system operators: one on the implementation of reverse flow on the Trans-Balkan pipeline system, and the other on the so-called "Vertical Corridor" between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Hungary; both to be facilitated by the European Commission,”said the message.
The Vertical Corridor will provide an opportunity to obtain Caspian gas using the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
The throughput capacity of the Vertical Corridor pipeline will be 3-5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
In July, Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian gas transmission companies DESFA, Bulgartransgaz, Transgaz and FGSZ and ICGB AD consortium, the contractor for the Greece-Bulgarian Interconnector (IGB) pipeline project, signed a memorandum of understanding on the Vertical Gas Corridor project.
TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor which is one of the priority energy projects for the EU.
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 Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south.
TAP’s 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.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn