The Trans Adriatic Pipeline announced that a total of 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from Azerbaijan has now entered Europe via the interconnection point of Kipoi, at the Greek-Turkish border, where TAP connects to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP). Out of these 10 bcm, approximately 8.5 bcm have been delivered to Italy.
“Ten bcm is symbolic, but an important milestone. A little over a year after the start of commercial operations, we have provided efficient, reliable and continuous transportation services to our shippers, making an important contribution to Europe’s energy security and supply diversification,” said Luca Schieppati, TAP Managing Director. “We are currently able to reach the full transport capacity of 10 bcm per year. On top of this, we can add further capacity via short-term auctions.”
“The delivery of the first 10 bcm of gas to Europe enhances liquidity in the gas markets and reinforces TAP’s role as a reliable transporter that can significantly contribute to the security of supply in Europe,” added Marija Savova, TAP Head of Commercial. “TAP can double its capacity and expand in stages, up to 20 bcm within 45-65 months, as a result of requests to be received during the binding phase of a market test and the accumulated requests resulting in an economically viable outcome. The next binding phase is currently scheduled for July 2023. However, TAP can accelerate this timeline and launch the binding phase of the market test during 2022, provided that TAP receives interest for an earlier start in the ongoing public consultation. We invite all interested parties to take part in the ongoing market test.”
TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 kilometres 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.
TAP will facilitate gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through prospective interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33 per cent 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.
