Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Montenegrin government is working on the development of secondary legislation in the field of gas, as required by the European Union’s Third Energy Package to speed up the implementation of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) project, Zarko Djuranovic, Director of Energy and Consulting Department at Montenegro Bonus company, told Trend.
“After the establishment of IAP Project Management Unit in 2016, Montenegro is hosting its Permanent Secretary. Government of Montenegro and Montenegro Bonus as a transmission system operator for natural gas are committed and very determined to undertake all activities which will lead to the construction of IAP,” he said.
Djuranovic noted that in the immediate future, the activities are focused on the preliminary design of the Albanian and Montenegrin sections of IAP, with relevant Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and independent technical reviews.
Western Balkans Investment Framework approved 2.5 million euros for this purpose, he added.
“Also, the procedure for the adoption of the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for Coastal Region of Montenegro, with IAP route in it, is in its final stages,” said Djuranovic.
IAP is a proposed natural gas pipeline in Southeastern Europe (SEE) that will stretch from Albania through Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Split in Croatia. It will be connected with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The capacity of the pipeline will amount to five billion cubic meters of gas per year.
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).
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