BAAR, Switzerland, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The consortium managing the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline said it sent applications to host countries Albania, Greece and Italy so they can get their natural gas.
TAP sent third-party access exemption applications to the host countries that would let the consortium enter into a ship-or-pay gas transportation agreement with shippers working in the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan.
TAP Managing Director Kjetil Tungland, in a statement, said the applications moved the project one step closer to realization.
"TAP's realization will be a major step forward in opening the Southern Gas Corridor, thereby diversifying supply and enhancing energy security for Europe," he said.
The European community is pushing for a network of pipelines in the Southern Corridor that rely on some of the natural gas available in Azerbaijan.
Directors with BP managing the Shah Deniz natural gas field in Azerbaijan are expecting proposals Oct. 1 from pipeline groups anticipating natural gas for their project.
TAP would move natural gas from the Caspian region to European markets. It would start near Thessaloniki, Greece, go through the Adriatic Sea and reach shore in southern Italy.
TAP could come online by the time developers start shipping gas from Shah Deniz II in 2017.
