TAP and ITGI Could Protect Against Future Gas Disruptions

Two major pipeline consortiums have today said that new supply routes could help to protect against the severe supply interruptions seen this week, as a result of extremely cold weather in Russia.

Managing Director of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, Kjetil Tungland, said the past week's disruptions highlighted the importance of supplying gas from other avenues, specifically gas from the Caspian Sea, to European customers.

"The extreme cold weather that Europe is presently facing has boosted gas demand, putting energy supplies under strain," Mr. Tungland said in a statement released on TAP's website today.

"In the past couple of days Russian gas supplies to Europe have fallen sharply, due to increase of own demand. In Italy, gas flows were reduced by 20 per cent compared with normal levels.This highlights the urgent importance of finding a solution to bring Caspian gas to South Eastern Europe, the region that needs it the most. I am hopeful that in the years to come, the proposed Trans Adriatic Pipeline will be able to deliver this in a cost effective and technically robust manner."

Chairman of IGI Poseidon and Chairman and CEO of DEPA, Harry Sachinis, also said today that the ITGI (Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy) pipeline could also help to protect against such a crisis in the future.

"The current shortages on gas deliveries are not happening for the first time. We are now facing disruptions in deliveries because of the weather conditions and the increase of demand in neighboring countries," the Trend news agency reports Mr. Sachinis as saying.

The ITGI project aims to bring gas along the Southern Corridor from the Caspian Sea and will supply gas to Europe through Greece, Italy and Turkey.

It is hoped the pipeline projects will help to break a heavy reliance on gas supplies from Russia, a reliance which has caused the shortfalls in supply seen through the past week.