TAP Transports First 10bcm of Natural Gas to Europe

TIRANA, March 17

A total of ten billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from Azerbaijan has now entered Europe through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, TAP-AG announced on Thursday, March 17th from Baar, Switzerland, where it is registered. Out of those 10 bcm, about 8.5 bcm have been transported to Italy, the press release points out. The natural gas was transported via the interconnection point of Kipoi, at the Greek-Turkish border, where TAP connects to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).

“10 bcm is a symbolic, but an important milestone,” TAP managing director Luca Schieppati was quoted as saying while adding that now the pipeline can reach the annual full transport capacity of 10 bcm.
On her part, Head of Commercial Marija Savova said that TAP can double its capacity and expand in stages, up to 20 bcm within 45-65 months.

About the TAP pipeline

TAP started commercial operations by mid –November 2020, while the construction of the pipeline was considered substantially completed by October 2020. TAP is an 878-km gas transportation system crossing Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea, and Italy. It is the first direct pipeline between the Shah Deniz II field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea and Europe.
In Albania, the pipeline route travels from the municipality of Devoll, in the Korca region, approximately 215 kilometers across the land, before entering the Adriatic Sea. TAP has a metering station at Bilisht, near the Albanian-Greek border, with eight block valve stations and one landfall station. The pipeline arrives at the Adriatic coast 17 kilometers north-west of Fier. TAP has a compressor station 400 meters inland from the shoreline. The construction of the Albanian section started in September 2016. Pipes shipment to Albania was completed in October 2017.
Over 200,000 tons of pipes, machinery, and equipment have been delivered to Durresi Port between April 2016 and October 2017. The deepest point of the pipeline in the offshore section is 820 meters below the Adriatic Sea level.

Source: TAP-AG

Photo: TAP route in Albania, credit: TAP-AG