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Turkish Stream, TAP not competitors, says Russia

Oil&Gas Materials 17 December 2018 17:33 (UTC +04:00)
Russian initiated Turkish Stream project and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe are not competitors.
Turkish Stream, TAP not competitors, says Russia

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.17

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Russian initiated Turkish Stream project and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe are not competitors, said Denis Manturov, Russian Industry and Trade Minister.

Turkish Stream and TAP are not competitors: the two infrastructures, which cross different countries, can in some ways be called complementary, Italian La Stampa newspaper quoted Manturov as saying.

At the same time, it is incorrect to state that the Turkish Stream is an alternative to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project, according to the Russian minister.

He noted that TAP can transport not only Azerbaijani, but also Russian gas.

Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also said that TAP may be filled with Russian gas as well.

“TAP project is 80 percent complete already. I think we have the necessary technical conditions to fill this pipeline with Russian gas. I believe that this will be beneficial for the European economy and the entire region,” said Tsipras, adding that Greece will promote this position in the meetings with European partners.

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).

Turkish Stream project envisages construction of two branches of the main gas pipeline under the Black Sea, the capacity of each branch being 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas.

One branch is meant to supply gas directly to the Turkish market and the other for the supply of gas by transit through Turkey to Europe. The intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey also stipulates that these two offshore branches should be built by December 2019.

On Dec.8, 2016, South Stream Transport B.V., 100-percent subsidiary of Gazprom, signed a contract with Swiss Allseas Group on constructing the first line of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline’s offshore segment.

Later in February 2017, the two companies inked an agreement on constructing the second line of the pipeline’s offshore section.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

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