Anna Nicklin
The European Commission’s Southern Gas Corridor initiative consists of three key pipelines to supply gas from Caspian regions to Europe, with an overarching aim of securing Europe’s gas supply.
This programme has seen the construction of the Trans Anatolian natural gas pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic pipeline (TAP) pipelines, the expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline, and the development of the Shah Deniz 2 gas field.
This article provides a brief overview of recent events relating to the TANAP and Trans Adriatic pipeline TAP projects.
TANAP
At the start of November, it was reported that Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Berat Albayrak, stated that construction of the TANAP is expected to be 55% complete by the end of the year.
The 1850 km pipeline, which will carry natural gas from Turkey’s eastern border with Georgia to its western border with Greece, will allow Turkey to become gas trade centre. Gas is expected to be delivered to Turkey in 2018.
The TANAP will serve as a new alternative for energy supplies to Europe, transporting up to 31 billion m3/y of natural gas from the Caspian and other nearby regions.
In July, SapuraKencana secured a contract with TANAP for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of its offshore pipelines and fibre optic cables.
At the end of November, Honeywell Process Solutions announced that it will provide an integrated control and safety system for the project. This will ensure that compressor station operations are conducted reliably and safely along the length of the pipeline.
On 21 December, news sources reported that the World Bank had approved a US$800 million loan for the pipeline project – US$400 million each for Turkey and Azerbaijan. Concurrently, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved a loan of US$600 million for the same project on the same day. This is the largest ever loan to be approved by the AIIB to date.
TAP
Contracts
With construction of the TAP beginning in July 2015, 2015 saw several contracts awarded for construction of access roads/bridges in Albania, large diameter ball valves and actuators, turbo compressors, fittings, isolating joints and scraper traps, 70 km of onshore line pipe and bends, 495 km of onshore line pipes and Italy’s onshore pipeline construction.
In 2016, the contracts continued. TAP awarded contracts for onshore construction for the Albanian and Greek pipeline section (March 2016), offshore construction and offshore line pipes (April 2016), engineering, procurement and construction of compressor stations (May 2016), supply of hot rolled coils and fibre optic cable (June 2016), and the supply of six turbo compressor trains (July 2016).
In August, ROSEN’s field products and services line was chosen to provide equipment for pre-commissioning activities to SPIECAPAG. ROSEN will supply 48 in. pre-commissioning tools, tracking equipment and accessories to be used for the TAP.
On 16 December, TAP announced that it had selected Honeywell for the engineering, procurement and installation of its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) telecommunications and security systems.
Pipeline background
Announced in October, construction of the TAP in Albania has begun. When this announcement was made, TAP’s construction progress in Albania was 23 km of right-of-way cleared, 12 km of pipe strung, 8 km of pipe welded, 56% of pipes delivered, alongside over 94% of access roads and bridges being completed.
The TAP will transport Caspian natural gas from the Shah Deniz II field (Azerbaijan) to Europe. The pipeline is expected to open up the so-called Southern Gas Corridor to Europe.
The 878 km TAP will connect with the TANAP at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crossing Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to come ashore in southern Italy. Italy opens opportunities to transport natural gas to large European markets – such as Germany, France and the UK.
The 36 in. offshore section of pipe between the coastlines of Albania and southern Italy – will be approximately 105 km in length. The TAP is expected to commence operation in 2020.
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