Offshore staff
ATHENS, Greece – The Greek Parliament has ratified the Host Government Agreement (HGA) it signed earlier this year with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline consortium.
The HGA sets out the framework by which the project, taking gas from theShah Deniz II project in the Caspian Sea, will be implemented and operated on Greek territory.
The Greek section of the TAP pipeline from Azerbaijan will be the longest, costing an estimated $2.03 billion.
It will run for 550 km (342 mi) from Kipoi at the Turkey/Greece border to Albania, northwest of Dipotamia. Additionally, the planned interconnection points and reverse flow capability of TAP should help safeguard security of supply for other countries in the region.
The BP-led Shah Deniz consortium is due to make a final investment decision on the project later this month.
TAP will transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz II field to Europe via an 870-km (540-mi) long pipeline connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near Kipoi, before traversing Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, then coming ashore in southern Italy.
The system is designed to add gas supplies to other southeastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia.
TAP is expected to be ready to transport first gas from the Shah Deniz field in 2019.
12/04/2013
