Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The entire range of pipeline construction activities (stringing, welding, lowering in, backfilling, reinstatement, etc.) are currently underway in Greece and Albania as part of construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, Lisa Givert, TAP Head of Communications, told Trend.
She noted that in Greece, as of end-July, 540 km of our right of way have been cleared, approximately 538 km line pipes strung, over 530 km welded, 481 km back-filled and approximately 404 km are being reinstated.
In Albania, approximately 211 km have been cleared and graded along our route, 207 km line pipes strung, 196 km welded and approximately 179 km back-filled. Circa 131 km are being reinstated, added Givert.
“This means that between Greece and Albania, TAP has now cleared and graded 98 percent of its corridor (approximately 752km out of 765km). Additionally, we have welded 95 percent of steel line pipes and around 86% pipes are already in the ground (back-filled),” she said.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU), and has already attracted 1.5 billion euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which approved the loan in early February 2018.
Connecting with the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.
Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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