Baku, Azerbaijan, July 10
By Sara Israfilbayova - Trend:
As part of the further expansion of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), first of all, the cheapest gas will go to Europe, Mikhail Korchemkin, managing director of East European Gas Analysis consulting company, told Trend.
According to the expert, the market will decide what kind of gas will flow through TAP.
"The transportation costs of Gazprom in the process of delivering gas to the Turkish market will be very high, and this will weaken the competitive potential of Russian gas in southern Europe," Korchemkin said answering a question about the possible connection of Gazprom to the project as a shipper of gas that will flow to Turkey via the second branch of the Turkish Stream.
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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