BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 27. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) aspires to achieve carbon neutrality through the expansion projects, Luca Schieppati, TAP managing director, said in an exclusive interview with Trend ahead of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council’s meeting to be held in Baku March 1.
“In 2023, the Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial meeting was held for the first time, allowing us to exchange views on SGC’s green agenda. At TAP, we aspire to be an important contributor to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement by potentially supplying the EU with low carbon/renewable gases in the future and pursuing new energy strategies. Among other things, we aspire to achieve carbon neutrality through the expansion projects with electrification of our compressor stations and other mitigating measures. Therefore, for the second consecutive year, the Green Energy Advisory Council will provide a great platform to discuss these matters,” he said.
Schieppati pointed out that TAP is focused on enhancing Europe’s energy security and diversification of energy routes, as well as ensuring just transition happens in a sustainable manner, particularly in South-East Europe and the Western Balkans, a region overly reliant on heavy fossil fuels.
“Achieving these objectives is a complex endeavour, which requires continuous dialogue and collaboration among trusted and reliable partners, offering various solutions during the ongoing 2023 Market Test procedure. Hence, along with other senior executives of TAP, I will travel to Baku to attend this important gathering. This meeting provides a great opportunity to discuss the progress of the Southern Gas Corridor and the future expansion plans for our strategic energy value chain, of which TAP represents the European section, transporting energy to the relevant markets,” added the managing director.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, transporting natural gas to Europe from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP crosses Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network. TAP’s initial capacity is 10 billion cubic meters per year, which can be expanded to 20 billion cubic meters.
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