Work on preliminary feasibility study of TAP over

Work on the preliminary feasibility study of the trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea to the European countries via Greece, Albania and Italy is over, local sources reported. Construction of the gas pipeline, which is considered to be a rival of the Russian South Stream, is planned to begin in 2014.

478-km-long TAP will lie from Komotini city on the northeast of Greece, cross Albania (209 km) and reach Brindizi port city on the south of Italy along the Adriatic Sea bottom (105 km). The partners of the project are Swiss Axpo AG (42.5%), Norwegian Statoil (42.5%) and German E.ON Ruhrgas (15%).

The gas pipeline carrying capacity will be 10 billion cub.m. a year with the possibility of expanding up to 20 billion. The project is a part of the South Gas Corridor, which is lobbied by the European Union and designed to transport gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Greek Naftemoriki newspaper writes that “work on the main technical parameters of the trans-Adriatic pipeline is over, its optimal routes on the ground and underground sections and characteristics of materials, which will be used for compressor stations, valves and transit joints, have been determines.”

“Assessment of efforts, which will be used to build 800-km-long pipeline and which will be laid on the ground and along the Adriatic Sea bottom is also included into the feasibility study. One of the main goals of the feasibility study is to “guarantee possibility of construction of the pipeline and work out the solutions to protect the territories and safety measures to avoid potential risks.”

The preliminary feasibility study will be included into the package of the project support, which will be submitted by the TAP administration to the Shah-Deniz consortium on March 31, 2013. The consortium plans to make a decision on the preferable route of natural gas transportation to Europe till the end of June 2013.

On February 13, 2013 Greece, Albania and Italy signed the intergovernmental agreement on the TAP construction. Its construction is planned to begin at the end of 2014 and will be completed in 2018 to start transportation of the first gas from the Shah-Deniz Phase-2 field via it, reported BUSINESS-TACC.—0—