The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) became capable of transporting an additional 1.2 billion cubic metres of gas per year as of January 1 this year. This has sent an important signal to the market. Azerbaijan will be able to increase its gas exports to Europe, where demand for new sources of gas remains strong.
The additional capacity of TAP also opens the door to expanding the geography of supplies. At the beginning of the year, Azerbaijani gas started flowing to Austria and Germany, marking another step in strengthening the country’s position on the European market. However, this is not the pipeline’s final potential.
TAP is designed for a phased increase in capacity to as much as 20 billion cubic metres per year. The current expansion can therefore be seen as another stage in Azerbaijan’s broader plans to increase gas supplies to Europe. This is particularly important amid growing interest among European countries in alternative suppliers.
Through this pipeline, natural gas produced at the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan’s sector of the Caspian Sea is transported to Europe. Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border, TAP runs through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before reaching the coast of southern Italy. Against this backdrop, Albania is of particular interest.
The country’s government, together with US energy company Argent LNG, will assess the possibility of constructing a large-scale LNG storage and regasification terminal on the Albanian coast. The facility is expected to be connected to TAP. Argent LNG, which is developing an LNG terminal with a capacity of 25 million tonnes per year at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Albanian government to jointly assess the project.
According to the company, the plan is to connect the terminal to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) and the Fier–Vlora gas corridor. This would allow LNG to be received on the Albanian coast, stored and subsequently supplied to several regional markets. "This infrastructure will create an additional source of natural gas supply that is not linked to Russia and will provide the region with greater flexibility to respond to changing energy needs," the company reported.
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