Baku, Azerbaijan, June 4
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will help Vlora power plant in Albania to get access to gas, Trend reports.
As the European Commission says in its Albania Report 2019, the conversion of the Vlora power plant from oil use to gas use once it is connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline is encouraged.
“This would stabilise the generation of electricity during droughts in the southern part of Albania,” reads the report.
The European Commission states that the Vlora thermal power plant (built with financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of EUR 40 million, EIB financing of EUR 40 million, and World Bank financing of EUR 20.5 million) has never been put into operation since its completion in 2011 due to a failure in the plant’s cooling system that has not been repaired.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline is progressing on schedule and is expected to be operational in 2020, said the report.
TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union (EU). The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.
The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.
Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.
TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).
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