TAP: 85% of pipes lowered into ground in Greece, Albania

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Around 85 percent of pipes have been lowered into the ground in Greece and Albania as part of the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, said a message from TAP AG consortium.

This constitutes more than 650 kilometers out of 765-kilometer long section of TAP in Greece and Albania, according to the consortium.

'Side boom tractors are used to lower the welded pipe into the trench. Generally, around 1 kilometer of pipe is lowered into the trench at a time,' said the message.

TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.

Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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