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By Trend

U.S. wants energy to be a driver of economic opportunity, including with projects like the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the U.S. ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt said, Trend reports.

He made the remarks during the 23rd Economist Government Roundtable in Greece, according to U.S. embassy in this country.

“We want energy to be a driver of economic opportunity—including with projects like the TAP pipeline and Greece’s new offshore exploration agreement with Hellenic Petroleum, Total, and ExxonMobil,” said the envoy.

Pyatt said he is thrilled that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline’s first gas delivery has been set for 2020, and plans are moving forward for a market test to double the pipeline’s capacity in the next few years.

Moreover, he pointed out that the start of construction on the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) and the significant increase in American LNG purchases by Greece demonstrates that global gas markets are changing rapidly.

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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