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By Trend

Nearly 2,500 tie-ins have been completed as part of the implementation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project in Greece and Albania, TAP AG consortium said in a message on its Twitter page.

“This is the construction step where 2 pipe strings (~1km) are welded together inside the trench,” said the message.

Guided by the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) in each host country, TAP’s route has been selected to respect environmental, social and culturally sensitive areas wherever possible.

Once built, the onshore pipeline itself will be buried at least one meter beneath the ground and therefore not visible for the entire route. Only facilities such as the pipeline receiving terminal, compressor and block valve stations will be above ground and they will be designed, constructed and screened to have minimum environmental impact.

Earlier, Trend learned from Axpo Holding AG, a 5-percent shareholder of TAP, that more than 50 percent of the project is complete.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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