98% of TAP pipes are in ground in Greece, Albania

1 March 2019 10:17 (UTC+04:00)

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Around 98 percent of pipes needed for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, are in the ground in Greece and Albania, Trend reports citing TAP AG consortium.

“In February 2013, Greece Albania and Italy signed a trilateral intergovernmental agreement, reinforcing their support for TAP. Six years later, 98 percent of pipes (around 750 kilometers out of 765 kilometers in total) are in the ground in Greece and Albania,” said the message.

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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