Enagas reveals investment plans on TAP

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Spanish company Enagás continues to support Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, viewing it as a reliable route to provide more sustainable supply of energy to Europe.

Spanish Enagás' total investment in the TAP, which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is expected to reach 232 million euros, in line with the capital structure envisaged in the project, the company said.

"TAP successfully completed its financial close in December 2018, securing the largest funding agreement for a European infrastructure project in 2018 of 3.96 billion euros. Funding has been provided by a group of 17 commercial banks, along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The company, Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), made the first drawdown of the financing arranged on 30 November, and provided Enagás with a cash inflow through the partial reimbursement of the contributions made by Enagás to TAP for the execution of the project, of 415.2 million euros in 2018," said the company.

Enagás said it will contribute a further 62 million euros to TAP until the project comes on stream.

"Enagás' total investment in TAP is expected to reach 232 million euros, in line with the capital structure envisaged in the project," said the company.

Founded in 1972, Enagás is Spain’s leading natural gas transmission company and Technical Manager of the Spanish gas system.

The company provides gas transportation services through gas pipelines for the primary and secondary transport of gas to distribution points; and natural gas regasification services, as well as operates underground storage facilities.

Enagás began operating internationally in 2011, and it currently has presence in eight countries: Spain, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Albania, Greece, Italy and Morocco.

Enagás acquired 16 percent share in TAP in 2014. The company is part of the consortium that has acquired 66 percent of the Greek gas operator Desfa as well.

TAP was included as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) by the European Union in October 2013 and is critical to integrate the European gas market. It is a complementary supply route to the interconnection with France via the Pyrenees (MidCat) and also a PCI, which will help Spain to improve the security of supply in Europe.

Estimated at 4.5 billion euros, TAP is a part of Southern Gas Corridor project, that envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz-2 gas field to Greece and southern Italy across the Adriatic Sea through Greece and Albania, and involves designing, construction and operation of the natural gas pipeline.

The Intergovernmental Agreement on the TAP project was signed by Albania, Italy and Greece in February 2013. The 878-kilometer-long TAP pipeline (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers) having connected to the TANAP on the Turkish-Greek border, will run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

The initial capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year with the possibility of doubling it. About 82.4 percent of TAP pipeline construction works were implemented.

The TAP is planned to be connected to the Greece-Macedonia line, as well as the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection line, for the delivery of gas to the Western Balkan countries.

TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

The TAP project is one of the strategic objectives of the EU in the energy security and diversification of energy sources, chosen as the shortest and direct way to export natural gas from Azerbaijan to the European markets.