Italian Enel interested in TAP project

Azerbaijan, Baku, May 2 / Trend A.Badalova/ Italian Enel, which is the copuntry's biggest power producer, is interested in joining the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project Reuters reported with the reference to the company CEO Fulvio Conti. "Enel is interested in projects that bring gas to the country," Conti told rpeorters on Wednesday on the sideliens of a presentation. Asked if such projects included TAP he said: "Of course." TAP is one of the Southern Gas Corridor projects, designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy and further into Western Europe. Gas to be produced during the second phase of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development is considered as the main source for TAP. In February Shah Deniz Consortium announced TAP a priority route for export of the Azerbaijani gas to Italy. The current shareholders of TAP project are EGL of Switzerland (42.5 percent), Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent). Earlier TAP official told Trend that the project welcomes any new shareholder, including Greek and Italian companies, that can bring added value to the project and further strengthen the Shah Deniz decision to select TAP as the pipeline to bring gas through Greece and Albania to Italy. Construction of TAP will start in 2015, if the project is chosen as the preferred gas transportation solution by Shah Deniz consortium. The initial pipeline capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, expandable to 20 billion cubic meters per year. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az