TAP receives around 95% of total pipes needed for construction

By Leman Zeynalova:

Approximately 95 percent of the total 55,000 pipes to be used for the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) have been received in Greece, Albania and Italy, said the message from TAP AG.

The last shipment of offshore line pipes has been offloaded in Brindisi, Italy, between 3 and 6 September 2017.

TAP’s contractors have cleared approximately 70 percent of the project route in Greece and Albania (539km out of 765km). Also, over 45 percent of welded steel pipes are already in the ground (backfilled).

“We are pleased that TAP continues to progress on time and on budget. We therefore remain on track to deliver the first Shah Deniz II gas in 2020, bringing a much-needed new source of energy into the European energy network,” said TAP Managing Director Luca Schieppati.

“I want to underline that our project is built with the utmost care for the environment. Our teams are working very carefully along our route to ensure that the land on which construction has been completed is returned to the owners or users in its original condition or better. We are also collaborating with local authorities and local stakeholders to ensure that the benefits of our project are tangible across all those communities crossed by the pipeline,” Schieppati added.

Nearly 2,500 tie-ins have been completed as part of the implementation of TAP project in Greece and Albania, TAP AG consortium said in a message on its Twitter page.

“This is the construction step where 2 pipe strings (~1km) are welded together inside the trench,” said the message.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

Source : Trend

February 12, 2017

by AEA in News

Albania’s Gas Master Plan sets out an Exciting Future

Interestingly enough, the gas sector once played an important role in Albania and the country was a relatively large gas producer. In 1982, gas production amounted to one billion cubic metres but has now dropped to mere 0.01 billion cubic metres. It is worth noting that Albania and Kosovo are the only countries in the Western Balkan region which are not connected to international natural gas networks.

The existing oil network, which is 498 km long, is not in a good shape, either. It connects all the existing sources of oil, with the exception of the pipeline that connects the natural oil wells in Delvina with the Ballsh pipeline (the latest one being renovated), but it is no longer functional. Most of it is corroded and defective which makes its use unviable. Consequently, a new oil transmission and supplying system is needed.

August 9, 2016

by AEA in News

TAP says construction of pipeline’s Albanian section on track

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG has announced that the construction of the pipeline on the territory of Albania is progressing without delays.

TAP AG tweeted that 87.5 percent of access roads and bridges in Albania have already been upgraded.

TAP’s route through Albania is approximately 215 kilometers onshore and 37 km offshore in the Albanian section of the Adriatic Sea. It starts at Bilisht Qendër in the Korça region at the Albanian border with Greece, and arrives at the Adriatic coast 17 km north-west of Fier, 400 meters inland from the shoreline.

In the summer of 2015, TAP started the construction and rehabilitation of access roads and bridges along the pipeline’s route in Albania. The work is expected to be completed during 2016.

TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries.

The 870-kilometer pipeline will be connected to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).