TAP gas pipeline can gauge customer interest
The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will take gas from Azerbaijan to Europe is in a position to offer capacity on the line via so-called “open seasons” to gauge interest among potential customers, senior TAP executives said on Wednesday.
The 870-kilometer pipeline will link Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field with Italy, crossing through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea.
It is the largest attempt so far to bring new supply sources to European consumers.
“We have prepared the ground for 200 km out of a total of 550 km that the Greek section will run,” Rikard Scoufias, TAP’s country manager for Greece, said on the sidelines of the Athens Energy Forum.
“We are on track.” TAP can offer capacity via “open seasons” in line with European legislation, its commercial and external affairs director Ulrike Andres said.
The aim is to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas. Together with another natural gas pipeline scheme, the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), it is also seen as an opportunity to turn Greece into a Southern Europe energy hub.
[Reuters]
