TAP plans to introduce first gas in Albania and then in Italy in coming weeks

It is planned to introduce the first gas in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) sections in Albania and then in Italy in coming weeks and months, Murad Heydarov Chairman of TAP Board of Directors, told Trend.

“TAP’s project activities are in full compliance with the COVID 19 related sanitary provisions in Greece, Albania and Italy. We aim at enabling the project to progress towards delivering first gas within 2020. Despite the challenges related to lockdowns and quarantine measures, works are currently progressing with extreme care. In these unprecedented times, TAP’s utmost priority is the health and safety of its staff, contractors’ and sub-contractors’ personnel. At the end of February 2020, the TAP project was almost 93.5 percent complete. In the upcoming weeks and months, we plan to introduce first gas in Albania and then in Italy. However, we continue to monitor the evolution of COVID-19 very closely, following the guidance of public health authorities at international and national levels. We keep high our readiness to adjust our planned project activities to further requirements of the host countries and react efficiently if the situation changes. As I said the health of all people assigned to the project is our utmost priority,” he said.

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).