Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) has granted a license to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) for an Independent Natural Gas System (INGS).

The license refers to the Greek section of the project and the term of the license is 50 years, TAP said on September 24.

"The INGS license gives TAP the necessary approval for activities related to the construction of the pipeline such as installation of the pipeline, compressor and metering stations, block valve stations and other equipment," TAP noted.

The Shah Deniz field, one of the world's largest gas-condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. Its reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Overall, the field has proven to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Europe.

The gas which will be produced at the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source of the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of the Caspian gas to European markets.

The Shah Deniz consortium announced the selection of TAP as the main route for transporting its gas to Europe in late June.

Azerbaijan agreed to sell over 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from the second phase of its Shah Deniz development to nine companies in the European Union in September 2013.

The contracts were signed for 25 years between SOCAR and the European utilities, including Axpo Trading AG, Bulgargaz EAD, Depa, Gas Natural Fenosa, Hera Trading Srl, Shell Energy Europe, Enel SpA, E.ON SE, and GDF Suez SA.

The initial capacity of TAP will amount to 10 billion cubic meters per annum with the possibility of expanding to 20 billion cubic meters per annum. The TAP's construction project is planned to start in 2015.