TAP to bring new gas to Italy, boost its energy security

By  Trend

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will bring new gas to Italy and boost its energy security, Trend reports citing a message on TAP AG consortium’s website.

“Italy is a country with a high risk in terms of energy security: imports come from limited supplier countries and some long-term contracts will expire by 2020, whose terms of renegotiation have not yet been defined,” said the consortium.

More than 90 percent of Italy’s gas demand comes from abroad through pipelines, or in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to the message.

“TAP will increase the energy security rate of Italy, increase the sources of supply, bring new gas to Italy, increasing competition and contributing to the reduction of the prices for households and businesses,” said TAP AG.

At the same time, TAP is using the most modern excavation technologies to minimize its environmental impact, according to the message from the consortium.

“Thanks to the microtunneling technology, it will be possible to operate invisibly and without any interference in human activities,” said TAP AG.

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.