Timeline for final decision on TAP expansion announced

The final decision on the expansion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which transports Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, will be made before March.

Report says, citing the Italian media.

The final decision of the TAP consortium and its five members, that is, the consortium's shareholders - the Azerbaijan State Oil Company (SOCAR), British BP, Italian Snam, Belgian Fluxys, and Spanish Enagàs - will become known by March.

If the pipeline capacity is doubled or rather increased from the current 10 billion cubic meters to 20 billion cubic meters, then along with structural interventions at compressor stations, it will be necessary to implement administrative and regulatory changes in the three participating countries - Greece, Albania, and Italy and also issue permits.

Until now, the volume of Azerbaijani gas transported via TAP was 30 billion cubic meters. Of these volumes, 24 billion cubic meters were transported to Italy, and the remaining 6 billion cubic meters to Greece.