Following the approval from th e relevant regulatory authorities in Italy,
Greece and Albania, the European Commission has formally approved the Trans
Adriatic Pipeline’s (TAP) application for Third Party Access (TPA) exemption for
the initial capacity of 10bcm. The decision means that TAP can offer capacity
for export of gas volumes from Azerbaijan to Europe for a period of 25 years. In
addition, the Commission has approved exemptions from regulated tariffs on both
TAP’s initial and expansion capacity, as well as exemption from ownership
unbundling for 25 years.
European Union internal market regulation
typically requires third party access to all energy infrastructure, including
gas pipelines. However, national regulators can grant exemptions to this rule
for a limited period of time, in order to facilitate major infrastructure
projects such as international pipelines. Provided that all conditions have been
met, the European Union then corroborates the decision, offering an exemption
from ce rtain provisions in the regulatory framework.
Commenting
Kjetil
Tungland, TAP’s Managing Director, said: “We are grateful to the
European Commission for the swift handling of this exemption. Its signature
means that we now have all of the agreements we require ahead of the Shah Deniz
Consortium’s decision next month.
"We are absolutely confident that the
Trans Adriatic Pipeline is the best solution to transport Caspian gas to Europe,
improving the entire region’s energy security. It is the shortest and most
technically advanced pipeline, which does not require subsidies or grants and
crucially is the most commercially feasible project.”
Lutz Landwehr, TAP’s
Commercial Director, added: “The Trans Adriatic Pipeline
was the first project to conclude its Funding, Equity and Shareholder agreements
with the Shah Deniz Consortium, and the first pipeline to complete its Front End
Engineering Design (FEED). Coupled with today’s announcement it demonstrates
that we are in pole position to win the right to transport Caspian gas to
Europe.”
Having submitted TPA applications to the Greek, Albanian and
Italian national authorities in September 2011, TAP received its national
exemptions in March 2013 under the Directive 2009/73/EC.