TAP has reached another significant milestone in the project development by
completing the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) stage. This prepares the
natural gas pipeline project for the next steps including detailed engineering,
start of tendering for steel pipes and construction services.
TAP’s engineering team
has now finalised the definition of key technical parameters for the planned
pipeline such as the optimal routing onshore and offshore, specification of the
pipeline material, and design of valves, crossings, and compressor stations. The
comprehensive FEED documentation also describes the logistical effort required
for the TAP construction including resources, machinery, time and infrastructure
necessary to build the over 800 km long pipeline across Greece, Albania and the
Adriatic Sea with a landfall in southern Italy.
One of the main
objectives of FEED is to ensure the constructability of the pipeline and to
provide solid technical solutions to avoid environmentally protected areas, and
also to identify and propose measures for avoiding potential risks to the
pipeline’s safety.
To complete the FEED,
TAP mobilized the world-class engineering expertise of two of its shareholders,
Norwegian Statoil and German E.ON Ruhrgas, which are the leading specialists in
the implementation of onshore and offshore pipeline projects across the
globe.
TAP, together with
Statoil and E.ON New Build and Technology, involved over 40 subcontractors and
200 engineers to conclude the FEED. During the past few years they have
conducted over 150 technical missions, including offshore and onshore surveys.
Overall, TAP’s technical team analysed in detail over 10,000 km of terrain to
identify the most optimal pipeline route to transport Shah Deniz gas to
Europe.
Sigurd Hamre, TAP’s
Project Development Director, said: “We can be proud
of the quality of TAP’s Front End Engineering Design. The comprehensive and
detailed technical documentation clearly demonstrates that we are developing the
project according to the highest international requirements, with special
attention to safety and minimizing risks.”
Kjetil Tungland, TAP’s
Managing Director, said: “Completion of
FEED is a major achievement for TAP and another confirmation of our technical
excellence. It has involved a huge amount of engineering work to analyse in
detail all the technical aspectsof the pipeline route and to identify the most
feasible and cost-effective transport solution for Shah Deniz gas to
Europe.Once again, TAP has hard facts to prove that our project is on schedule
and fully aligned with the Shah Deniz development.”
The FEED report
constitutes a part of the Decision Support Package, which will be submitted by
TAP
to the Shah Deniz Consortium on the 31st of March 2013.
The Consortium plans to make a decision on the preferred gas transportation
route to Europe by June 2013.
Completion of FEED
allows TAP to start preparing for the next phase - Detailed Engineering - which
will include tendering for steel pipes and construction services. The
construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline is planned to start in late 2014 and
will be completed by 2018, in time for the first gas coming on stream from Shah
Deniz II in Azerbaijan.