Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

The volume of natural gas transported via Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) - an extension of the Southern Gas Corridor that takes Azerbaijani natural gas to European markets - increased by 42 percent in April, compared to March.

Thus, aggregate March nomination was estimated at 4565 GWh compared to April’s 6477 GWh, the pipeline’s operator TAP AG reported in its Twitter account on May 4.

After the commencement of gas flows via TAP in December 2020, a total of 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan was transported to Europe via the Greek interconnection point of Kipoi, where TAP connects to the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP).

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has said that the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, as another energy link connecting Azerbaijan with Europe, will strengthen Azerbaijan's strategic role in energy security, cooperation and sustainable development.

The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP.

TAP is a pipeline project to transport natural gas, starting from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and further to Western Europe.

The pipeline is supplied by natural gas from the second stage of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea through the South Caucasus Pipeline and TANAP. Since it will enhance energy security and diversify gas supplies for several European markets, the TAP project is supported by the European institutions and seen as a "Project of Common Interest" and a part of the Southern Gas Corridor.

The total length of the pipeline is 878 kilometres, of which 550 kilometres is in Greece, 215 kilometres in Albania, 105 kilometres offshore, and 8 kilometres in Italy. The offshore leg is laid at a maximum depth of 810 metres.

The initial capacity of the pipeline is about 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year, with the option to expand the capacity up to 20 billion cubic metres.

TAP’s shareholders are BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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