BP Answers TAP's Call for Partnership

Earlier this month, the consortium behind the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) opened the project up to interest from potential partners.

That "call" for prospective interested parties to apply appears to have been warmly received, with Tuesday's news that BP Plc. will take a "substantial" stake in the pipeline project.

"We will put our money where our mouth is, we will demonstrate that we are very serious about the success' of TAP" said Alasdair Cook, BP's Vice President for Shah Deniz Full Field Development (FFD) as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Cook is responsible for the integrated leadership of this project, bringing gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe for the first time. The project includes construction of offshore facilities in Azerbaijan, expansion of a terminal and pipeline system from Azerbaijan to Turkey and marketing of the gas in Europe.

The announcement appears to bolster prospects that Caspian gas will flow through Greece and Albania to Italy via TAP and then onwards into Europe. 

By taking a stake in TAP consortium, BP would join with fellow Shah Deniz II consortium partner Statoil and with EGL and E.ON Ruhrgas.

Nabucco West, a scaled downed version of the Nabucco pipeline and the BP backed South East Europe Pipeline (SEEP), are vying against each other to be the Central European route to move gas from Azerbaijan's Caspian fields. 

The Shah Deniz consortium is to shortly choose between Nabucco West and SEEP, with the winner to be matched against TAP in a final decision expected by June 2013.

Related Reading: TAP: The Most Direct and Economical Route