TAP’s Albania section to be ready on time, if not before deadline – deputy minister
SOCAR reported that the document was signed by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and BGP President Gou Liang.
The joint venture will carry out seismic exploration in Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.
“Presently, SOCAR, along with the modern technologies, also applies alternative methods for exploring new deposits and stabilizing production. The joint venture will bring in a new perspective and will become a good guarantee for a mutually beneficial exchange of experience between Azerbaijani and Chinese specialists,” Abdullayev said.
SOCAR and BGP Inc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 6, with the aim of establishing a joint venture to establish cooperation with BGP Inc.
BGP Inc. is in 100 percent ownership of CNPC. The main scope of the company’s activities is exploration on land, in intermediate zones and at sea, including obtaining, processing and interpreting seismic data, manufacturing seismic equipment, and related services in information and communication technologies.
SOCAR is a wholly state-owned national oil company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and natural gas from onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.
The company includes three production associations, one oil refining and gas processing enterprise, an oil flotilla, a deep-water base plant, two trusts, one institute, and 23 structures.
SOCAR established joint companies (including Georgia and Turkey), alliances, operating in various sectors of oil and gas spheres. It has representative offices in Georgia, the U.S., Turkey, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Great Britain, Iran, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium and Canada.
He noted that during the last few months, TAP has not had any requirement for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, which shows that construction is proceeding without problems.
"We are confident that this part of the pipeline will be finished on time, if not before the deadline," said the deputy minister.
As for the creation of the joint venture between Albanian gas infrastructure operator Albgaz and Italian SNAM for TAP’s maintenance on Albania’s territory, Aliko said that it shall be created as soon as the maintenance agreement with TAP is finalized.
TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.
The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.
TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).