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Southern Gas Corridor to start commercial operation by late 2020

Oil&Gas Materials 30 September 2020 13:04 (UTC +04:00)
Southern Gas Corridor to start commercial operation by late 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept.30

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

By the end of the year, commercial operations will be launched along the entire Southern Gas Corridor, a strategic infrastructure for Italy and Europe, managing director of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project Luca Schieppati said during an energy conference in Milan, Trend reports.

He pointed out that TAP, the final leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, is nearing completion.

“Despite EU-wide decarbonisation efforts, Eastern Europe continues to run on coal. The entry into operation of TAP will help change this situation in Greece, Bulgaria and potentially the Balkan Peninsula. The volumes of gas arriving with TAP, purchased by a large number of operators and not indexed to oil prices, are able to put downward pressure on gas prices,” added Schieppati.

He went on to add that the growing tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not pose any immediate risk to the flow of Azerbaijani gas into Western Europe.

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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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

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