(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 15. Deliveries of gas from the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) improved the security of supply for the importing states and made the gas price predictable for its consumers, Professor Brenda Shaffer, a faculty member of the US Naval Postgraduate School, told Trend, as TAP marks 5 years since the start of commercial operation.

She pointed out that in contrast to most EU members, the United Nations, and the International Energy Agency, in the early 2010s, Azerbaijan had the foresight to understand that Europe is going to need increased natural gas volumes and that natural gas demand in the world is not declining, but rather increasing.

“At the time of the FID (final investment decision) on TAP in the world most were under the illusion that an 'energy transition' to renewable energy from fossil fuels was imminent. But, Azerbaijan and SOCAR correctly assessed that today there is no renewable substitute for natural gas and that actually renewables create demand for natural gas, for baseload power, to enable stable delivery of power. Globally, demand for renewables has grown over the last decade, but demand for coal and natural gas has grown even more. There is no energy transition taking place from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” said Shaffer.

She noted that Brussels views Azerbaijan as an extremely reliable gas supplier and also reliable geopolitical partner.

“The Southern Gas Corridor has recently received a new set of type of investors-equity funds. They may open new opportunities. A new era of natural gas demand is emerging. Countries are now openly stating that they need gas. Soon many multi-lateral institutions and countries will remove their opposition to public finance for natural gas. I believe, of all energy sources, gas and coal will be the fastest growing over the next decade. The gas demand trend is great for SOCAR and Azerbaijan,” Shaffer concluded.

On November 15, 2020, four and a half years after the inauguration of construction works, the 878-km gas transportation system crossing Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy, began commercial operations. On December 31, 2020 TAP started transporting first gas. TAP's annual capacity is 10 billion cubic meters with the possibility of expansion to 20 billion cubic meters.

The increase of TAP supplies by an additional 1.2 billion cubic meters by 2026 was approved in January 2024. Work is currently underway to organize gas supplies to Albania via TAP starting in 2026.

MENAFN15112025000187011040ID1110347821