Interest in the short-term capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has increased significantly, Vugar Veysalov, head of the External Relations Department of the TAP consortium said at the Belgrade Energy Forum on May 15.
“TAP has been safely and reliably transporting natural gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, Bulgaria and Italy for almost three and a half years. From the very beginning of commercial activity, TAP has been recognized as an integral energy infrastructure in Europe, providing gas from a new source and via an alternative route at a time when the continent was facing significant energy supply problems,” he said.
According to Veysalov, in order to meet the increased energy security needs of Europe over the past couple of years, the TAP consortium has actively increased capacities and volumes of transportation to markets.
Veysalov noted that since the beginning of operation, TAP has transported more than 35 bcm, of which 2.14 bcm went to Bulgaria, 3.37 billion to Greece and 29.22 billion to Italy.
“In 2023 alone, 11.50 bcm were transported via TAP. Gas transported by TAP accounted for 16 percent of the total volume of gas imported to Italy and 18 percent to Greece. These are significant achievements, but in the future we can further contribute to ensuring the security of Europe’s energy supply and achieving decarbonization goals if we gradually double the pipeline capacity,” the representative of TAP stressed.
According to him, TAP expansion opportunities are offered to the market through regular market tests conducted every odd year. The 2021 market test, which was completed in January 2024, led to the adoption of legal obligations that will add an additional 1.2 bcm of gas per year to the pipeline’s capacity by December 31, 2025,” he said.
According to Veysalov, the work required to achieve the first level of expansion is progressing smoothly.
