The Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) will start operating at full capacity in 2022 and 2023 and pump 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, TAP AG Consortium CEO Luca Schieppati told Il Messaggero.
Report quotes him as saying, of this volume, 8 billion cubic meters will be transported to Italy.
The TAP representative said doubling the pipeline's capacity will take over 50 months after signing the contract.
TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
On the first day of the project, which started the flow of natural gas to Europe on December 31, 2020, 10.9 million cubic meters of natural gas was transported to Europe via TAP.
TAP will facilitate gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through prospective interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33% of its total gas demand through TAP after the completion of the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB). TAP's exits in Greece and Albania together with the landfall in Italy provide multiple opportunities for further transport of gas from Azerbaijan to the wider European markets.
As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe and essential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe's energy security, supply diversification, and decarbonization objectives.
The project includes BP (operator - 28.8%), AzSD (10%), SGC Upstream (6.7%), LUKoil (10%), Petronas (15.5%), NICO (10%) and TPAO (19%).