“IAP, as a branch of TAP, aims to transport Azerbaijani gas from Albania through Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina to Split in Croatia. For present, after the successful phase of its feasibility study, the Albanian and Montenegrin governments have secured a 2.5 million euros grant from the European Union for the project design,” said Meta, Trend reports citing Albanian media.
TAP project has created the premise for the accomplishment of another project with a strategic regional impact on the gas field, such as the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), he said.
Albanian president pointed out that these projects not only strengthen the geostrategic position of Albania and guarantee the diversification of energy supply sources, but above all, they substantially contribute to the energy security for Albania, Balkan region and Europe itself.
IAP is a proposed natural gas pipeline in Southeastern Europe (SEE) that will stretch from Albania through Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Split in Croatia. It will be connected with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The capacity of the pipeline will amount to five billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Total length of the pipeline is 511 kilometers.
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).
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