20 April 2024
TAP: surplus to requirements?
Publication date: 18 November 2020
Gas Strategies Group
10 Saint Bride Street
London UK
EC4A 4AD
ISSN: 0964-8496
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After years of political wrangling, public demonstrations and several court cases, the 10 Bcm/y Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is finally a reality. As of mid-November, the pipeline has started commercial operations, although shippers have not yet commenced flows. Once they do, TAP will bring Caspian gas to Italy and beyond.
TAP - owned by BP (20%) and SOCAR (20%) as well as European infrastructure firms Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%) Enagás (16%) and supplier Axpo (5%) - will connect the BP-operated Shah Deniz 2 field offshore Azerbaijan via the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) pipeline through Turkey and the South Caucasus Pipeline through Azerbaijan. Buyers in Italy have contracted 8 Bcm/y of the total volume, while 1 Bcm/y will find its way to Greece; and the same amount to Bulgaria when the EU-backed 3 Bcm/y Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is up and running next year.