BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.12
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, will be filled with gas in coming weeks, Luca Schieppati, TAP managing director, told Italian media, Trend reports.
Talking about the progress in TAP’s implementation, he noted that the works in Greece and Albania have been completed.
“We are preparing to fill the pipeline with gas in these weeks, starting from the connection with Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and gradually going towards Albanian section,” he said.
As for Italy, the managing director said over half of the work is complete in this section.
“As I have already said, we will be ready for the first deliveries of Caspian gas to European markets in October 2020,” noted Schieppati.
At the end of September 2019, the TAP project, the final leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, was 89.8 percent completed.
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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