Artur Lorkowski: Serbia and others should show interest in TAP

The TAP gas pipeline wants to expand its capacities and wants Serbia and others to show an interest, the director of the Energy Community Secretariat of Serbia, Artur Lorkowski told Politika, Report informs.

He has stated that Serbia already has several options of securing gas in regional markets and pointed out that, due to the conflict in Ukraine, it would be advisable for the country to look into alternatives to Russian gas.

Lorkowski was commenting on the interviewer's remark that, although Serbia had recently begun the construction of a Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas pipeline in the hope that the route would supply it with Azerbaijani gas and LNG from Alexandroupolis, Greece, there were no plans for Serbia to receive gas through that pipeline.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Greece is already there, and Serbia could, if the Horgos gas interconnection point, between Serbia and Hungary, is open for others as well to reserve its capacities, purchase gas from Central European gas hubs, Lorkowski said in an interview for Politika.

He added that his advice to Serbia amid the developments in Ukraine was to seriously look into alternatives to Russian gas, combined with a true reform of the market.

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, as well as decarbonisation objectives.

The project includes BP (operator - 28.8%), AzSD (10%), SGC Upstream (6.7%), LUKoil (10%), Petronas (15.5%), NICO (10%) and TPAO (19%).