BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Onshore construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is almost complete, said Luca Schieppati, TAP Managing Director, Trend reports citing TAP AG consortium.
He said during the 6th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku on Feb.28 that reinstatement is substantially complete in Greece and Albania and the pipeline receiving terminal in Italy is more than 80 percent built.
“With a few months to go until TAP's commercial operation date, we’re focused on operational readiness and the start of commercial operations,” said Schieppati.
The managing director went on to add that offshore pipe-laying activities are in full swing.
“Installation is contingent on the weather, however, we are confident that we’ll be able to finalize works in the next couple of months,” 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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