TAP and its shareholders –
Axpo, Statoil and E.ON – have concluded a Shareholder Agreement with three
members of the Shah Deniz Consortium: SOCAR, BP and Total.
The Shareholder Agreement,
finalised and initialled by all parties, stipulates how the TAP Joint Venture
will be governed by an enlarged shareholder group comprising of Statoil, E.ON,
Axpo, SOCAR, BP and Total as shareholders.
The Shareholder Agreement
will take effect once SOCAR, BP and Total decide to exercise their options to
join the TAP Joint Venture, taking a combined stake of up to 50% in TAP AG.
The TAP project is one of
the key elements of the broader Southern Gas Corridor value chain, which, along
with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the South Caucasus Pipeline
(SCP), will transport Shah Deniz Stage 2 gas from Baku to the European
Union. The Shah Deniz Consortium expects to make a final decision on the
preferred European gas transportation solution by mid-2013.
Kjetil Tungland, Managing
Director of TAP, said: “I am pleased that members of the Shah Deniz Consortium,
TAP and its shareholders were able to agree on the principles of a future Joint
Venture. Having SOCAR, BP and Total entering the TAP Joint Venture would
considerably strengthen the shareholder constellation of our pipeline project
and I look forward to this becoming a reality in the future. The
Shareholder Agreement is yet another important milestone demonstrating TAP’s
relative advanced position compared to alternative pipeline routes, following
the signing of the Cooperation Agreement, Option and Funding Agreements, in
June and August 2012 respectively. I look forward to continuing the same close
cooperation with the Shah Deniz Consortium throughout the course of 2013.”