The construction inauguration ceremony of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), to be held on May 17 in Thessaloniki, will be a way of saying 'thank you' to all those who have made it possible, said manager director of the TAP on Sunday.
The TAP project aims to connect the Trans Anatolian Natural gas Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greece-Turkey border and cross northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before going onshore in southern Italy, where it will link up with the Snam-operated Italian natural gas network. It will be 878 kilometers long with an initial capacity of 10 billion cubic meters per year to transfer Azerbaijan’s natural gas to several European markets.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will oversee the ceremony in Thessaloniki, one of the transmission areas of the pipeline.
"Large infrastructure projects such as TAP require international collaboration, political will and unwavering commitment. The construction inauguration ceremony celebrates the realization of our collective efforts," Ian Bradshaw, TAP's managing director, told Anadolu Agency.
He stated that TAP’s development is fully aligned with the Shah Deniz II development schedule, and added that "currently, the Shah Deniz Consortium plans first gas deliveries to Georgia and Turkey for late 2018, and first deliveries to Europe will follow approximately a year later, in early 2020."
- TAP part of $45 billion value chain
Bradshaw stated that TAP is part of the $45 billion Southern Gas Corridor value chain and is progressing according to schedule.
"We will be in a position to reveal the TAP project cost once all major contracts are in place. While the vast majority of TAP’s strategic procurement contracts have now been awarded, a few final tenders - namely SCADA and Fibre Optic Cable - are still in progress of being awarded," he explained.
"With regards to the evolution of the oil and gas price, this leads us all to look at costs across our operations and with our contractors and sub-contractors. TAP is no different; we will continue to ensure we execute the TAP project with exemplary cost control," Bradshaw emphasized.
The initial cost of Trans Anatolian Pipeline Project, TANAP, reduced to $9.2 billion from the estimated cost of $11.7 billion due to lower oil and gas prices.
- Transportation agreement for 25 years
Bradshaw said that in more macroeconomic terms, the energy industry is one for long-term investments and "as such, our project is underpinned by long-term gas transportation agreements for 25 years, which were agreed and signed by the buyers and shippers of Shah Deniz gas in September 2013."
- International finance support for TAP
"TAP expects to secure funding from a number of multilateral institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as Export Credit Guarantee Agencies of a number of OECD countries involved in the supply of goods and services," he said.
"In addition, TAP’s financing is foreseen to include commercial lenders," he concluded.
(Anadolu Agency)
