TAP natgas pipeline agreement to be signed in Athens on Feb. 13

The interstate agreement for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will be signed by Greece, Italy and Albania on February 13 in Athens, Greece's foreign minister Dimitris Avramopoulos announced on Saturday after a meeting with the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, in Munich.

The approx. 800-kilometer-long pipeline will transport gas from the Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan through Greece (starting in Komotini), via Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy.The signing ceremony will be attended by a representative of the Azeri government as well, at the invitation of Avramopoulos.

According to Greek foreign ministry sources, Avramopoulos had telephone contacts on Friday night with the foreign ministers if Italy and Albania, Giulio Terzi and Edmond Panariti respectively, to finalize the relevant details, while the deliberations are continuing among the three TAP countries on the text of the final agreement.

In joint statements after their joint meeting, Avramopoulos underlined the great prospects for cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of the economy, investments and tourism, while Mammadyarov spoke of the strategic relationship between the two countries, stressing that it is necessary for the bilateral cooperation to be extended to more sectors, beyond that of natural gas.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is a natural gas pipeline project to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. The project is aimed at enhancing security of supply as well as diversification of gas supplies for the European markets. TAP will open a new so-called Southern Gas Corridor to Europe and establish a new market outlet for natural gas from the Caspian.

TAP's shareholders are Axpo of Switzerland (42.5%), Norway's Statoil (42.5%) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15%). The project is designed to expand transportation capacity from 10 to 20 bcm per year. TAP also envisages physical reverse flow of up to 80 per cent to further ensure security of supply during any operational interruption of gas deliveries.The TAP route will be approximately 800 kilometers in length (Approx.: Greece 478 km; Albania 209 km; offshore Adriatic Sea 105 km; Italy 5 km).

Avramopoulos is in Munich for the International Security Conference, on the sidelines of which he is conducting a series of bilateral contacts with his counterparts and leaders from all over the world.The Munich Security Conference (MSC) was founded in 1963 and has grown into one of the most important annual gatherings for policymakers on international security.

SOURCE: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY