Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.1
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Drilling for the tunnel as part of building a micro-tunnel for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Italy is expected to start in the next months, Lisa Givert, TAP Head of Communications, told Trend.
“TAP’s contractor, Saipem, has been working in the micro-tunnel area. The entry pit has been completed before the summer season, and site equipment has been set up. Drilling for the tunnel is expected to start in the next months,” she said.
Givert noted that offshore pipeline works are planned to be carried out in 2019.
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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