TAP over 87% complete on 3rd construction anniversary

By Nuran Erkul Kaya

ANKARA (AA) - The Trans Adriatic Pipeline, the last section of the $400-billion, 3,500-kilometer-long Southern Gas Corridor, is now over 87% complete on the third anniversary of its construction start, a statement from the TAP AG company said on Friday.

The construction of the project started on May 17, 2016, and first deliveries to Europe are planned for 2020.

One of the pipeline's construction milestones was its connection to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Maritza River in the Balkans in November 2018.

TANAP is another section of the Southern Gas Corridor. The 1,850-kilometer pipeline will carry 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas starting from the Turkey-Georgia border. Turkey will receive 6 billion cubic meters of this gas via TANAP while the remaining volumes will be transported to Europe through TAP.

The TAP project, which received £3.9 billion in financing from a variety of banks in December 2018, is considered the biggest financial commitment of 2018 for a European infrastructure project.

The latest milestone of the project was realized in March 2019 when the offshore installation began. Pipelaying started on the 105-kilometer offshore section across the Adriatic Sea at sub-sea depths that extended down to 810 meters.

To date, the TAP teams have driven over 116 million kilometers and worked approximately 41 million man-hours.

Luca Schieppati, TAP's managing director said the project matters for three main reasons: bringing immediate benefits to its three host countries, Greece, Albania, and Italy.

After connecting with TANAP on the Turkey-Greek border, TAP will cross northern Greece, Albania, and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in southern Italy to finally connect to the Italian natural gas network.

"More broadly, it will provide a degree of energy security and diversity that the wider region hasn’t had before. It’s also a key project that will facilitate Europe’s energy transition," Schieppati said, adding that the construction will result in delivering tangible social and economic benefits to the communities in the countries for decades to come.

"We have worked hard to achieve this over the past three years and the pipeline’s positive legacy will continue long after the construction is completed," Schieppati noted.

Once built, TAP will provide important new energy supplies for southeast Europe to power its homes and industries as the region transitions to a low carbon future, according to TAP company’s statement.

On completion, the 878 kilometer-long pipeline will provide an estimated 33% of Bulgaria’s gas needs, 20% of Greece’s requirements and approximately 10.5% for Italy.

BP, SOCAR, and Snam have 20% shares each in TAP while Fluxys holds a 19% share, Enagas has a 16% stake and Axpo has a 5% interest.