TAP Launches 2021 Market Test
Baar, Switzerland. TAP launched a new market test to allow natural gas shippers to express interest, and in a later phase, secure access to new, long-term capacity in TAP, thereby enabling the future expansion of the pipeline capacity.
The market test will be conducted in two main phases: a non-binding phase, starting on 12 July 2021, followed by a binding phase, expected to start earliest in the summer of 2022.
Luca Schieppati, TAP’s Managing Director, said: “Approximately six months since gas flows via TAP began, more than 3 billion cubic meters of gas have been transported to Europe. While the pipeline’s current capacity is approximately 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, TAP can expand in stages, up to double its initial capacity. This means that additional gas resources can reach European markets, supporting the transition to a cleaner energy mix, especially in South Eastern Europe.”
Marija Savova, Head of Commercial for TAP, added: “The 2021 market test provides an opportunity for shippers to express interest in future capacity as part of an expansion of TAP. We also offer the possibility to request new exit points along TAP’s route. We look forward to receiving non-binding interest until 6 September 2021. By then, TAP will have published the outcome of the binding phase of the 2019 market test.”
The market test is conducted under the rules and procedures specified in the Guidelines for the 2021 Market Test of Trans Adriatic Pipeline, approved by the National Regulatory Authorities of Greece, Italy and Albania.
Stakeholders and interested parties can express their interest in participating in the non-binding phase of the market test by submitting the documentation required to market.test@tap-ag.com. More information is available here.
About Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)
TAP transports natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
TAP will facilitate gas supplies to South Eastern European countries through prospective interconnectors. In particular, Bulgaria will be able to cover up to 33% of its total gas demand through TAP after the completion of the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria (IGB). TAP’s exits in Greece and Albania together with the landfall in Italy provide multiple opportunities for further transport of gas from Azerbaijan to the wider European markets.
As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe and essential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe’s energy security, supply diversification, as well as decarbonisation objectives.
More about TAP: www.tap-ag.com | www.twitter.com/tap_pipeline
Media Enquiries in English: media@tap-ag.com