Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG successfully completed the 105 km long offshore section of the pipeline across the Adriatic Sea, reports citing the TAP AG consortium.
“This milestone includes several deliverables, such as the offshore installation of 36-inch pipes by Castoro Sei, Saipem’s semi-submersible pipelaying vessel, the above-water-tie-in with the onshore infrastructure in Albanian waters, as well as hydrotesting the asset to ensure it is safe and ready for operations,” reads the message.
Activities to connect the Italian and Albanian coasts began in mid-January 2020, with pipes being welded and tested on board Castoro Sei and then laid onto the bottom of the Adriatic Sea in a continuous stretch, starting from the Italian shores towards Albania.
Approximately 9,000 pipes of 36-inch diameter have been used for TAP’s offshore section, weighing circa 100,000 tonnes in total. The pipes have been laid on the Adriatic seabed: 25 km in Italian territorial waters, 43 km in international waters and 37 km in Albanian territorial waters.
The deepest point of the pipeline is approximately 810 metres beneath sea level. Saipem’s Castoro Sei laid an average of 1.2 km pipes per day, reaching a peak of 2.8 km in a single day.
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).
