Greece, Albania, Italy sign Trans Adriatic Pipeline Agreement
Baku, February 13 (AZERTAC). Greece, Italy and Albania Wednesday signed a three-way inter-governmental agreement backing a proposed pipeline that would bring gas from Azerbaijian to Europe, part of a European effort to diversify the continent's energy supplies.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline, or TAP, which promises to bring huge investment to Greece and create 2,000 new jobs, "will upgrade the geo-strategic role of the country in the coming decades," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in a statement.
"We are giving political support to a project of strategic importance for Greece, but also for Europe's energy policy," Mr. Samaras added.
The TAP project aims to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. If successful, the project, will open a new so-called Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and establish a new market outlet for natural gas from the Caspian.
The 800-kilometer pipeline system would have an initial annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The venture is run by a consortium comprising of Norway's Statoil (STL.OS), Axpo of Switzerland and Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas.
"This agreement between TAP's host countries lays the strong foundation and long term security that is required to move the project forward towards selection and construction. We now look ahead to continuing our fruitful cooperation in making the TAP project a reality," said Kjetil Tungland, TAP's Managing Director.
The BP (BP.LN)-led Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan, overseeing the Caspian Sea gas field of the same name, is due to make a final selection by mid-2013 of its preferred gas-pipeline provider to Europe.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline is a proposed pipeline project to transport natural gas from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and further to Western Europe.
The pipeline would be supplied by natural gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East through the existing and planned gas transportation networks in Turkey. The source of supply for initial capacity of 10 billion cubic metres (350 billion cubic feet) per year will come from the second stage of development of the Shah Deniz natural gas field in Azerbaijan. Shah Deniz consortium plans to start bilateral negotiations with potential buyers of gas and not a tender process. Three pipeline projects have been prequalified for the negotiations. Statoil, which owns a 25.5% stake in the consortium developing Shah Deniz, sees the Trans Adriatic Pipeline as a possibility to transport natural gas from Shah Deniz.
Turkey and Azerbaijan's natural-gas trade agreement, signed on 7 June 2010, is believed to give a boost to the further development of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline as well as to all other projects in the The deal sets the terms for the transit of Azerbaijani gas to European countries.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG is a joint venture company registered in Baar, canton Zug, Switzerland, with a purpose of planning, developing and building the TAP pipeline. Managing Director of the project is Kjetil Tungland.
Shareholders of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline are: Axpo (Switzerland, 42.5%), Statoil (Norway, 42.5%) and E.ON Ruhrgas (Germany, 15%).
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