TAP to boost EU energy security
The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is competing with Nabucco West for transporting 10 billion cubic metres of gas from the second phase of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz fields to Europe, can help boost EU energy security, especially in Southeast Europe by connecting with existing or planned pipelines, sources at the Greek Foreign Ministry told New Europe on 18 April.
TAP has recently signed to memorandums of understanding and co-operation with the network transmission operator of Croatia and Bosnia Plinarco and BH-Gas, promoting the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP). Starting at its connection point with TAP, IAP plans to supply gas to Northern Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
TAP is also associated with the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which has a length of 170 kilometres from Komotini in Greece to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria, which is maybe the most important energy project between the two countries at the moment, the Greek Foreign Ministry said. The aforementioned agreements ensure TAP’s connection with the Balkans and the rest of Europe.
Earlier, the European Union and the United States strongly supported TAP’s competitor Nabucco West and the earlier longer version of Nabucco. “Even though we only support TAP for the past seven months, Greece managed to change the balance within the European Union and secured official statements from the EU Energy Commissioner about the EU remaining neutral on the two competing projects,” the sources said.
At the same time, the US also has stated that the two projects are equal, stating that it is interested in their viability and the possibility of increasing their supply capacity.
The presence is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Eric Rubin during the signing of the Inter-governmental Agreement in Athens on 13 February 2013 shows US interest in the pipeline. Moreover, the recent visit to Baku of Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Dimitrios Kourkoulas and the planned visit by Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos on 29 and 30 April are part of the Greek government’s efforts for the success of the project.
TAP will interconnect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea coming ashore in Southern Italy. For this to happen, the ending point of TANAP must be at the Greek-Turkish border. Even though the project plan has advanced rapidly the last few months, the agreement between TAP and TANAP is still pending.
On 26 June 2012, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a binding intergovernmental agreement on the TANAP pipeline. This pipeline would run from the Georgia-Turkey border to the Turkey-EU border. It plans to carry 6 billion cubic metres for the Turkish market and 10 billion cubic metres for the EU market. Presently, a 20% share in TANAP is held by Turkish BOTAS and TPAO, while 80% is owned by Azerbaijan’s state energy firm SOCAR. The cost of the project is estimated at $7 billion. The construction of the project is expected to start in 2013 with the phase being operational in 2016.
Designed to expand the capacity from 10 to 20 billion cubic metres per year, TAP will open up the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, which will enhance Europe’s energy security by contributing to the diversification of the region’s gas supplies. TAP’s shareholders are Axpo of Switzerland (42.5%), Norway’s Statoil (42.5%) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15%). Shah Deniz II consortium members – BP, SOCAR and Total - have the option to join TAP if it is selected in June 2013, and are currently funding the TAP project. europe on line
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