First TAP line pipes arrive Greece

Baku. 25 May. REPORT.AZ/ The first deliveries of pipes, to be used in the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP AG), have started arriving at the ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala cities of Greece.

Report informs citing official website of the TAP, steel line pipes and bends already delivered to Greece.

According to the information, the first vessels and trains carrying approximately 1,500 line pipes and 200 bends have already arrived to the ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala. These will be stored at the Main Marshalling Yards of Thessaloniki, at the Thessaloniki Port Authority, and at Kavala, at its “Philip II” port. All pipes will subsequently be transferred along the routing of the pipeline.

Rikard Scoufias, TAP’s Country Manager for Greece, said that the delivery of line pipes and bends to the ports of marks the commencement of the construction period: 'The deliveries of materials by the contractors are executed in accordance with TAP’s high health and safety standards'.

Notably, approximately 32,000 line pipes will be used for the construction of the pipeline section crossing in Greece. Line pipes are produced by the Greek company Corinth Pipeworks S.A. (495 km) and the German company Salzgitter Mannesmann International GmbH (270 km). Salzgitter is also manufacturing the hot formed bends. The weight of every 18-metre (48-inch) pipe is about 10 tonnes. The total weight of steel pipes reaches approximately 526,000 tonnes.

Notably, TAP, which is a part of Southern Gas Corridor project, will transport the gas produced within 'Shah Deniz II' project, to Europe. This pipeline will join TANAP (Trans Anatolian) pipeline in Kipoi territory on Greece-Turkey border and cross Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before going onshore in southern Italy.

After reviewing various selection options during two years, on June 28, 2013, 'Shah Deniz' Consortium has officially declared selection of the project on TAP project. The pipeline will be 878 kilometers long, which 550 km will cover Greece, 215 Albania, 105 Adriatic Sea and 8 km Southern Italy. Highest point of the pipeline will be in the mountains of Albania (1 800 meters), the lower part (-820 meters) beneath the sea.

In the first stage, 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be delivered to Europe via the pipeline. BP (20%), SOCAR(20%), 'Snam S.p.A.' (20%), 'Fluxys' (19%), 'Enagas' (16%) and 'Axpo' (5%) companies acting as TAP shareholders.