BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan.23
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
2020 is a key year for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), Vugar Veysalov, TAP Head of External Affairs, told Trend.
“The upcoming months will see the culmination of many years of hard work and the gradual shift to the operations phase, as we transport first gas through Greece, Albania, offshore and onto Italy,” he added.
Veysalov noted that following the successful introduction of natural gas into a 2km section of the Greek pipeline in November 2019, 2020 will be focussed on progressively testing the infrastructure and transporting the gas through the pipeline and its facilities across the 878 km, section by section, east to west.
“The introduction of hydrocarbons or “hot commissioning” is an extremely complex process, performed in line with national and international safety and operational standards. To ensure that the compressor stations are fully operational, for instance, our teams will use a phased start-up approach as well as carry out a 72-hour test run on the gas compressors,” he said.
The pipeline will initially be pressured to 40 bar to allow the completion of facility commissioning, Veysalov said, adding that then the whole pipeline will be filled to a pressure of 65 bar to achieve Commercial Operations.
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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