Offshore staff
ATHENS, Greece – The partners in the Shah Deniz gas field development in the Caspian Sea have provisionally opted for exclusive negotiations with Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on a gas export route to southern Europe.
According to Harry Sachinis, chairman of competing pipeline consortium IGI Poseidon and chairman and CEO of DEPA: “We understand that this is just a provisional decision byShah Deniz and we remain convinced that the ITGI project presents the best solution for the opening of the Southern Gas Corridor and for Azerbaijan, or other gas producing countries, to export their gas to Europe.
“ITGI is the most advanced pipeline system, the only one with all the necessary permits and agreements in place and strongly supported by the governments of both Greece and Italy…
“ITGI is the only project able to take a Final Investment Decision in line with the time schedule of gas production from Shah Deniz II field and thanks to the pipeline from Greece to Bulgaria (the IGB pipeline project) the ITGI system will enable the diversity of sources and routes of supply to southeastern Europe from 2014.”
The ITGI project will be constructed on the basis of available gas from Shah Deniz II (10 bcm/yr or 353 bcf/yr), with capacity for expansion to guarantee transportation of additional supplies at a later date.
It would make use of existing infrastructure in Turkey and Greece with a new pipeline (IGI) connecting Greece to Italy. This would include a200-km (124-mi) offshore section through the Ionian Sea.
2/29/2012
