BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Transition from coal to sustainable and clean energy in Europe will be key, in view of reducing both carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution, Trend reports with reference to the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
“For those countries which are heavily reliant on coal key for moving away from coal in the short to medium term could be a switch to modern, low emission gas infrastructure. This can offer the region a widely available, secure and affordable source of energy that will keep the region competitive on an international scale, while significantly improving air quality and lowering emissions.
“At the heart of new gas infrastructure must be new pipelines, including the extension of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which could be an opportunity for diversifying the gas sources to the European market and bring gas to the region to speed-up transition from coal in energy production. Any new pipeline in the Western Balkans must fully respect EU rules, in line with the Energy Community Treaty and demonstrate its long term viability. A growing global role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) should also be taken into account as an opportunity to diversify gas supplies in the region via LNG terminals in Greece and Croatia
“As part of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the construction of the Fier-Vlora gas pipeline in Albania will be completed, and the Ionian-Adriatic pipeline along the coast will be prioritised, facilitating a major diversification of the sources of gas supply to the Western Balkans region and beyond,” reads the document.
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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