TAP Not Decided for Shah Deniz

MD of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Kjetil Tungland has said that TAP is still at risk of losing out in the decision for which pipeline will transport gas from the Shah Deniz field, despite rival ITGI being out of the running.

"There is still risk, of course, that Shah Deniz might choose SEEP or Nabucco," New Europe reports the managing director as saying.

However, since rival route ITGI has been knocked out of the running, the TAP consortium expects full support from Greece and Italy for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, he said. 

"We expect full support from Athens and Rome because the good thing about this decision is that Greece and Italy have been chosen as the preferred route when Shah Deniz chose TAP," he told New Europe.

While he said he respected both countries' choice for support, ITGI was clearly out of the running for transport of the Azeri gas.

"Now if they choose to keep supporting ITGI, that’s fine," he said. "But as far as Shah Deniz gas is concerned, ITGI is now irrelevant."

He also said the TAP consortium was in "exclusive negotiations" with the Shah Deniz consortium as the sole option for transit of the gas along an Italian route.

Last month, a spokesperson for the BP-led Shah Deniz consortium said that ITGI was no longer a possible choice for the transport of the gas, should Italy be chosen as the most viable transit route for the gas.

"The SOCAR-led negotiating team has made the decision to undertake exclusive negotiations with TAP on a southern pipeline route through Italy," the spokesperson said.