Baku, Azerbaijan, June 8
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe will help Italy to increase its negotiating power with suppliers, Charles Ellinas, CEO of Cyprus-based energy consultancy e-CNHC told Trend.
“Italy is the third largest gas consumer in the EU and with the decision to stop using coal for power generation after 2025, its demand for natural gas is expected to increase. This has been addressed in Italy's National Energy Strategy to 2030, SEN 2030, finalized in November 2017, by promoting new gas import pipelines to diversify supply. This includes the TAP pipeline supplying gas from Azerbaijan, currently under construction,” said the expert.
Ellinas pointed out that once completed, by 2020, TAP will supply 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year for 25 years, meeting 13 percent of Italian gas demand.
“TAP is one of the projects, including renewables, which could help Italy achieve its commitment to phase out coal power production by 2025. With coal providing 12 percent of Italy’s electricity in 2016, its phase-out could help Italy reduce carbon emissions by as much as 16 percent,” noted the expert.
He went on to add that diversification of sources of supply is essential to increase Italy's negotiating power with suppliers, when renegotiating contracts ending between 2018-2022, but also ensure security of supplies.
“SEN 2030 has identified TAP as one of the new imports pipelines that can help diversify gas supplies,” the expert concluded.
TAP worth 4.5 billion euros 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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