BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 25
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The work at the Pipeline Receiving Terminal in Melendugno, Italy as part of construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is in the final stage, Luca Schieppati, TAP Managing Director, said, Trend reports.
He told Formiche that Saipem’s Castoro Sei vessel that is laying the offshore section is more or less in the middle of the Adriatic, and moves towards Albania, laying every day several hundred meters of the pipeline.
“Offshore works are the last significant element for the completion of the construction, which is 93.5 percent complete as of late February. In Italy, we are at the final stage of the work at the Pipeline Receiving Terminal in Melendugno,” said the managing director.
Every day, the territories along the pipeline route in Melendugno are reinstated and the olive trees will be returned to their place in autumn, he added.
Schieppati pointed out that the availability of a new route through which Azerbaijani gas will reach the European markets increases Italy’s ability to resist problems that may arise in other countries from which gas arrives, whether it is market turbulence, production problems or political crises.
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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