IEA: Gas transportation via TAP to reach 8 bcm in 2021

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

About 8 billion cubic meters of gas are forecasted to be transported through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which is an extension of the Southern Gas Corridor that takes Azerbaijani natural gas to European markets, in 2021, the International Energy Agency states in its Gas Market Report for the fourth quarter.

The agency notes that about 5.5 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas have been transported to Europe via TAP since early 2021.

According to the report, Azerbaijani natural gas exports via the TAP pipeline are expected to reach 10 billion cubic meters in 2022.

"Azerbaijani gas output rose by 15 percent y-o-y, driven by the ramp-up of exports to Europe via the TANAP [Trans-Anatolian] and TAP pipeline systems," the report read.

It should be noted that earlier it was planned that the whole volume of natural gas to be delivered via this pipeline this year would amount to 5 billion cubic meters. 

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor and is a pipeline project to transport natural gas, starting from Greece via Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy and further to Western Europe.

The pipeline is supplied by natural gas from the second stage of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field development in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea through the South Caucasus Pipeline and TANAP.

The total length of the pipeline is 878 km, of which 550 km is in Greece, 215 km in Albania, 105 km offshore, and 8 km in Italy. The offshore leg is laid at a maximum depth of 810 meters.

The initial capacity of the pipeline is about 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, with the option to expand the capacity up to 20 billion cubic meters.

TAP’s shareholders are BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).