TAP pipeline construction completed

After almost four and a half years since the start of construction, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline is substantially complete, Report says, citing TAP consortium.

The TAP pipeline has been filled with natural gas from the Greek-Turkish border up to the pipeline receiving terminal in Southern Italy.

TAP is currently finalizing preparations for launching the commercial operations and offering the market capacity in alignment with the adjacent TSOs.

The Interconnection Point between TAP and the natural gas transmission system of Snam Rete Gas in Puglia (Italy) is expected to be completed and ready to transport gas by mid-November 2020.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline, part of the Southern Gas Corridor, is expected to transport 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Europe each year as part of the Shah Deniz-2 project. TAP, which will join the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the village of Kipoi on the Greek-Turkish border, will extend through Greece, Albania, the bottom of the Adriatic Sea, and Southern Italy.

The TAP pipeline's length, which was officially announced by the Shah Deniz consortium on June 28, 2013, is 878 kilometers. Of this, 550 km is in Greece, 215 km in Albania, 105 km in the Adriatic Sea, and 8 km in Italy. The highest point of the route in Albania is 1,800 meters above sea level, and the lowest point on the seabed is 820 meters below sea level.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 17, 2016, in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is expected that the first gas from Azerbaijan will be transported to Europe in late 2020 through TAP.

TAP will meet 33% of Bulgaria's gas needs, 20% of Greece's, and 10.5% of Italy's.