TAP is an 878 km pipeline that will transport gas from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan through the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor, providing a gateway to deliver up to 10 billion m3/a of new Caspian gas supplies to Europe from 2020.
It began construction in last year in May and, in 16 months, more than half of the project has been completed, including the engineering, procurement and construction scope; with the first phase of rehabilitation completed in Albania at the end of 2016.
More than 5,500 people have worked on the project across TAP’s host countries, working a collective 16 million man-hours.
During this time, TAP’s contractors have cleared approximately 70 per cent – around 539 km – of the 765 km route in Greece and Albania, and more than 45 per cent of the welded steel pipes are already in the ground.
The last shipment of offshore line pipes was delivered in Brindisi, Italy between 3 and 6 September, meaning that approximated 95 per cent of the 55,000 total pipes have been received in Greece, Albania and Italy.
TAP has implemented a wide range of social and environmental investment programs in the communities along its route, such as the donation of utility vehicles to communities in northern Greece. Substantial projects are due to be rolled out in the upcoming months.
“We are pleased that TAP continues to progress on time and on budget,” TAP Managing Director Luca Schieppati said.
“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.
“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.”
For more information visit the TAP website.
If you have a project you would like featured in Pipelines International contact Managing Editor Nick Lovering at nlovering@gs-press.com.au