BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 24
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
The offshore bio-constructions temporarily moved in October 2019 as part of construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) are now back to their original location, on top of the pipeline, Trend reports citing TAP AG consortium.
“We also cleaned marine litter from the seabed in the process,” said the consortium.
The Ministry of Environment, with the aim to protect the cores of bio-construction potentially affected by the pipeline, requested the temporary moving of bio-constructions during offshore works.
The moving activities were carried out by specialized divers and coordinated by biologists in real time.
The detached core pieces of bio-constructions were temporarily stored on metal support systems.
Moving activities began after the laying of the pipeline (March 2020). To fix the core pieces of bio-constructions, a specific resin compatible with marine environment was used.
After a few days after moving the bio-constructions, a video-photo survey on the pipeline was carried out. The core pieces of bio-constructions appeared to be in good health and a presence of marine fauna was detected. Following the moving activities of bio-constructions, TAP cleaned up areas not directly affected by the pipeline route.
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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