Arberi

Every day, about 10 million cubic meters of gas are transported to Italy through TAP

Every day, millions of cubic meters of gas pass through the pipelines in Albania, to "land" then in the neighboring country - Italy. According to the data which is updated every day by "Snam", the Italian company which is also present in Albania, offering the maintenance of pipelines, about 10 million cubic meters of gas are transported to Italy every day.

Looking at the updated data of January 7, it is noted that it is about 11 million cubic meters of gas that is expected to be transported to the point of Melendugno in Puglia, Italy. This amount of gas passes through 215 kilometers of pipeline within the territory of the Republic of Albania and meets about 13% of the neighboring country's need for methane gas.

Initially, TAP is designed to transport about 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year, of which 8 billion to Italy and 1 billion to Greece and Bulgaria. The figures show that TAP is currently operating with only 1/3 of the originally designed capacity. The year 2021 has found the trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP) fully operational.

After almost 4 years of work, the project supplies Europe with Azeri gas, somewhat reducing the European Union's dependence on Russian gas, as well as realizing one of the union's most strategic objectives.

In mid-November of last year, four and a half years since the inauguration of the works, the Transadriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) has started commercial operations, becoming fully operational along the 878 kilometers of its trajectory in Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy.

After the start of commercial operations on November 15, 2020, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG confirmed on December 31, 2020 the start of gas transportation from Azerbaijan. The first amount of gas arrived in Greece and Bulgaria, through the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point with DESFA, as well as in Italy through the Melendunjo interconnection point with SNAM Rete Gas (SRG).

"Today is a historic day for our project, as well as for our host countries and the European energy market. TAP is an essential part of the continent's gas network, contributing to the energy transport map. We offer a safe, direct and low-cost transport line to the countries of Southeast Europe and beyond", said Luca Schieppati, TAP's managing director, on December 31, 2020. While Marija Savova, commercial director of TAP, added that "the start of gas distribution is a historic moment for the gas market in Europe".

"As we look forward to serving gas carriers in the coming months and years, we also look forward to starting the second phase of market testing in the summer, which will enable TAP's future expansion, doubling the pipeline's capacity to 20bcm/a," said Savova. TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The pipeline, approximately 878 km long, connects to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, crosses Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before reaching the coast of southern Italy.

TAP will facilitate gas supply to the countries of Southeast Europe through multiple interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33% of its total gas demand through the TAP gas pipeline, after the completion of the interconnector with Greece. This, in return, will facilitate the increase in the penetration rate of natural gas in the country.

TAP's exit points in Greece and Albania, together with the land exit in Italy, offer further opportunities for transporting gas from Azerbaijan to the largest European markets. As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is important for Europe, both strategically and economically, and essential in providing secure access to a new source of natural gas.

TAP plays an important role in strengthening the security of the energy sector in Europe, diversification of energy reserves, as well as decarbonization objectives. The shareholders of TAP are: BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).