The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium has awarded Italian engineering group Saipem an EPCI contract (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation) for the construction of the TAP pipeline between the coastlines of Albania and Italy, across the Adriatic Sea.
The EPCI scope comprises associated civil works at the landfalls in both Albania and Italy (including micro tunnel), offshore pipeline installation, offshore fiber optic cable supply and installation, as well as pre-commissioning and survey activities.
With an initial capacity of 10 bcm/year of gas, the 878-km-long pipeline will transport gas from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to the Greek border via Albania to Italy by 2020. The builder and operator of the pipeline is Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP), a joint venture of BP (20%), Socar (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%). TAP will invest €5.6bn over five years in the project, of which €2.3bn in Greece.