French utility Engie’s gas transport business GRTgaz plans to create a
link from Switzerland to France that will allow Algerian, Libyan and
Azeri gas to be shipped to northern Europe via Italy in coming years.
GRTgaz already has a connection, in Oltingue, which carries gas from
France to Switzerland and has the capacity to transport more than 220
gigawatt-hours (GWh) of gas per day.
It is now investing in the link to carry
gas in both directions, and when the new infrastructure is operational
in 2018 it will be able to transport 100 GWh per day from Switzerland,
with the possibility of adding another 100 GWh of capacity later, GRTgaz
said on Tuesday.
"The new import capacity at Oltingue
will improve security of supply in Northern Europe and will connect the
French and Italian markets in the south-north direction,” said GRTgaz,
which gave no financial details about the planned investment.
From 2020 the Trans Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) is expected to ship Azeri gas to Europe via the networks of
Italian gas transport operator Snam, which will build 400 km (248 miles)
of pipelines across Italy to be able to ship African and Azeri gas to
Northern Europe.
(Reuters)