Baku, Azerbaijan, June 21
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is more than 88 percent complete, Luca Schieppati, TAP Managing Director, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
Looking back at the first five months of 2019, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline continues to progress on budget and on schedule, he said.
“In terms of overall progress, as of the end of May 2019, we are more than 88 percent complete – including all engineering, procurement and construction scope,” said the managing director.
He went on to add that between Greece, Albania and Italy, around 98 percent of pipes are already in the ground and reinstatement is more than 94 percent complete.
The micro-tunnel in Melendugno has been completed without any impact or interference with the tourist activities and the environment along the coast, said Schieppati.
“I am pleased to report that our safety performance remains world-class. So far, we have worked more than 42 million man-hours and driven over 118 million kilometres without any major accidents and with frequency rates being in line with best industry levels. I also want to recognise the successful implementation of our social and environmental investment (SEI) projects across our host countries. So far, we have committed over 37 million euros to more than 230 projects in Greece, Albania and Italy. These projects are improving the quality of life of thousands of people and we’ll continue implementing such initiatives in the upcoming months. Finally, we continue to make good progress towards commercial and operational readiness, which will ensure TAP is ready to start transporting natural gas from Azerbaijan in 2020,” he added.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian 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), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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