History

Funding and Option agreement with Shah Deniz partners to finance part of TAP and potentially take up to 50% equity stake in project

TAP shareholders and Shah Deniz partners SOCAR, BP and Total conclude Shareholder Agreement defining how TAP Joint Venture will be governed with members of Consortium were TAP to be selected by Shah Deniz in 2013.

Shah Deniz Consortium selects TAP as preferred transportation route for Caspian gas to Europe.

Shipments of steel line pipes, equipment & machinery start arriving in the Albanian port of Durrës. 

The first deliveries of steel line pipes and bends for TAP's Greek section arrive at the ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala.

The inauguration ceremony near the town of Fier was attended by the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama and the Minister of Energy and Industry, Damian Gjiknuri.

Six months after TAP's construction inauguration ceremony the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the project’s works in Alexandroupoli.

Approx. 58km of access roads were upgraded, two new bridges were built and 40 bridges refurbished.

TAP’s contractors cleared approx. 49% of the project route in Greece and Albania (371km out of 765km). Also, 22.6% of welded steel pipes are already in the ground (backfilled).

Approx. 13,000 pipes, bends, and various equipment and machinery weighing more than 200,000 tonnes have been delivered to Durrës since April 2016. 

The last shipment of steel line-pipes for the construction of TAP arrived in Thessaloniki. The transport of 55,000 TAP pipes and bends was completed in approximately one year and a half.

This includes all engineering, procurement and construction scope, announced TAP Managing Director Luca Schieppati at the 4th Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Shah Deniz Consortium delivers first gas to Turkey. First deliveries to Europe via TAP will follow in 2020.

TAP and the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) successfully completed their connection with the final “golden weld”, which physically connected the two pipelines.

The financing is provided by a group of 17 commercial banks, alongside the EBRD and the EIB. Part of the financing is covered by the export credit agencies - bpifrance, Euler Hermes and Sace.

TAP starts laying steel pipes on the 105 km offshore section, across the Adriatic Sea. The deepest point of the pipeline below sea level will be more than 810 metres. 

TAP introduces first natural gas into a 2km Greek section of the pipeline as part of its testing phase

TAP successfully completes the 105 km long offshore section of the pipeline across the Adriatic Sea. 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.

Four and a half years after the inauguration of construction works,  the 878-km gas transportation system crossing Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy, begins commercial operations.

Gas flows from Azerbaijan reach Greece and Bulgaria, via the Nea Mesimvria interconnection point with DESFA, as well as Italy, via the Melendugno interconnection point with SNAM Rete Gas (SRG).

The first 1 bcm of natural gas from Azerbaijan enters the Greek interconnection point of Kipoi, where TAP connects to TANAP.  

10 bcm of natural gas from Azerbaijan has entered Europe via TAP.

IGB started its commercial operations on 1 October.

TAP transported over 15 bcm of natural gas to Europe since 31 Dec 2020. The pipelnine began contributing to Europe’s energy security.

Following the closing of the binding bidding phase of the 2021 Market Test, TAP triggered the first level of expansion allocating 1.2 bcm of additional long-term capacity per year starting from 2026. 

50 bcm of natural gas from Azerbaijan has entered Europe via TAP.