TAP to facilitate switch from coal to gas in Italy: consortium

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will facilitate switch from coal to gas in Italy, TAP AG consortium said referring to the Italian energy situation report issued by the country’s Economic Development Ministry.

“In 2018 the demand for gas increased by 4.6 percent, recording the highest increase since 2010, due to the switch from coal to gas. TAP gas will facilitate this process also in Italy while favoring more competitive prices,” said the consortium, Trend reports.

The report shows that there was recorded 4.6 percent increase in world gas consumption in 2018, which is 3 times higher than the average increase of the last 5 years and the greatest increase since 2010 when consumption had recovered from the collapse linked to the economic and financial crisis of 2008.

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.

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