TAP: Bringing A New Energy Source To South Eastern Europe And Beyond

1. Trans
Adriatic
Pipeline
(TAP):
BRINGING A NEW ENERGY
SOURCE TO SOUTH EASTERN
EUROPE AND BEYOND

3. Political tensions in Eastern Europe tend to have a number
of consequences - not least for energy security. In the winter
of 2009, many central and eastern European states went
without vital gas supplies as tensions between Russia and
Ukraine spilled over. The issue drew a line under Europe’s
energy dependence and the undiversified sources of
that energy. Something had to change.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will certainly form
part of the overall solution. It will form the European
leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, one of the most
complex energy value chains in the world. In a recent
wide-ranging interview with TAP Managing Director,
Ian Bradshaw, we spoke about the pipeline, the effort
behind making it a reality and the difference it will make to
the countries in south east Europe and beyond.
A new frontier
for Europe’s Energy
We began by asking Mr. Bradshaw about the scale of TAP
and a little more about how it would increase the diversity
of Europe’s energy sources: “TAP will transport natural gas
from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe. The
approximately 878 km long pipeline will connect with the Trans
Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at
Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before
coming ashore in Southern Italy.”
Construction on the pipeline began in mid-2016 and will
run until the end of 2019. The pipeline comprises of 32,000
pipes in Greece, 13,000 pipes in Albania, 660 pipes in Italy
and 9,400 pipes offshore, with each pipe weighing about 10
tonnes. It can justifiably claim to be one of the world’s most
important infrastructure projects currently underway, so it is
of little surprise that its shareholders include the likes of BP
(20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás
(16%) and Axpo (5%).

4. Mr. Bradshaw explained: “TAP’s
routing can facilitate gas supply to
several South Eastern European
countries, including Bulgaria,
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, Croatia and others.
TAP’s landfall in Italy provides multiple
opportunities for further transport
of Caspian natural gas to some
of the largest European markets
such as Germany, France, the UK,
Switzerland and Austria.” Eventually,
it will provide 10 billion cubic metres
of gas annually - enough to
supply 7 million households.
The goal is to provide
access to a clean and
stable flow of energy. Mr.
Bradshaw says: “Europe
needs new sources of
natural gas to meet its long-
term demand, fuel economic
recovery and diversify energy
supply. Gas – as the cleanest of
fossil fuels – will continue to play a
key, strategic role in the energy mix
for decades to come. According to
the European Commission’s strategy,
each member state should have
access to at least three different
sources of supply. In this regard, the
resources from the Caspian region
are the next great opportunity for
Europe to benefit from.”
The role that TAP will pay here is
crucial -– able to connect to different
infrastructure such as the Ionian

5. Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) and the Interconnector Greece Bulgaria
(IGB) and bringing a new source of gas to countries such as
these which currently depend on a single source or are without
access to gas at all. The statistics bear out Caspian gas’s
importance to countries in the region: the gas that TAP will
transport represents approximately 40% of Bulgaria’s need
(1bcm/a), a third of Greece’s gas demand (1bcm/a), and around
12% of Italy’s gas demand.
While energy security is the bigger picture, the TAP
project is already impacting positively in other
ways, as investments of this size often tend
to. For one, it has created thousands
of direct and indirect jobs in its host
countries. Currently more than
5,200 people work for the project in
Greece, Albania and Italy, as part of
TAP’s network of key contractors.
Also, there are numerous people
employed at sub-contractor
companies, which provide various
goods and services to the project.
The company is also ensuring that the
host countries see the benefits too. Mr.
Bradshaw tells us: “We are investing over 55
million Euro in projects along our neighbouring
communities. These include rehabilitating schools,
cleaning marine litter, donating equipment to fire brigades
and emergency services, to name just a few. We have also
rehabilitated 58 kilometres of access roads and bridges in
Albania, which also benefit over 200,000 people.”
Knock-on benefits
and Stakeholder
engagement

9. In an era when the environmental burden has reached critical levels, to achieve
acceptance of a major technical work, the project-affected population should
be convinced for the necessity of the project, its contribution to the public
interest, the fair compensation for any impact, and the implementation of
every possible mitigation measure.
In the context of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Project, all Contractors of TAP
AG are committed to the Principles and Values of the Company, which has
as a benchmark the Performance Requirements of EBRD. This commitment
generated brilliant results in the acceptance of the project by the Stakeholders,
and to the Project itself. TAP is an international best practice in terms of
technical excellence, quality of procedures, and respect to the environment,
the local communities and all the personnel involved with the high levels of
Health and Safety rules it has established.
Our three companies, MTC - Makedoniki (Engineering Consultancy), INFODIM
(IT and GIS) and ENY (Law Firm) had the privilege to be awarded the Land
and Easement Acquisition (LEA) activities along TAP’s route in Greece (550
km – 13,000 directly affected persons), in an excellent collaboration with the
Management and Executives of TAP (TAP LEA team).
In the context of LEA activities, the local unique characteristics have been
treated by our 3 Companies with professionalism and respect, with ingenuity
in coming up with original solutions and with the use of every modern
technology. The high rate of acceptance and voluntary agreements with
the project-affected persons is a result of keeping Stakeholders informed,
resolving issues (e.g. cadaster) as they arise, offering fair compensation,
and providing support whenever needed. All these based on meticulous and
transparent documentation with the use of specialized IT and GIS tools and,
constant and responsible on-site presence of experts eager to engage in a
meaningful and transparent manner, with a view to resolve issues and address
requests and concerns in the best possible way.
www.makedoniki-etm.gr

10. engagement strategy and comprehensive
stakeholder engagement plans for each
country guide the detailed identification and
mapping of the full range of stakeholders.
Through these engagements, the process is
also refined over time as appropriate to be
as meaningful and effective as possible for
stakeholders. In Greece alone for instance,
more than 800 community meetings and
45,000 individual ones have been conducted,
in order to explain to local residents the why,
when, and how of the project.”
Partnerships
Diverse is a word that could be used to amply
describe TAP’s partnerships, which range from
its host countries to community groups,
and the corporations it works with
on the operations. Mr. Bradshaw
tells us: “First and foremost,
TAP enjoys a very robust
cooperation with the
host governments of
Greece, Albania and
Italy. They have been
staunch supporters of
our pipeline and continue
to be fully committed
to making TAP a reality.
However, most important of
all is our partnership with the
communities living along the route
where the TAP pipeline traverses. We
are guests, and, as such, remain committed to
holding an open dialogue and building trustful
and lasting relationships with the communities
residing along the pipeline route.”

12. ENERECO’S INTERNATIONAL teams provide prefeasibility and feasibility studies,
basic and detailed design, including studies related to environment and safety, owner
engineering, and assistance to procurement and authority engineering, construction and
commissioning management and maintenance services.
We are able to combine design requirements with environmental and social concerns:
environmental engineering aims at preserving and improving natural resources as well as
considering social impact.
www.Enereco.com

13. For the project execution, Technip, SNAM, UTG
and RSK are providing project management
services, Corinth Pipe Works and Salzgitter are
supplying line pipes., In addition the companies
Bonatti J&P Avax, Spiecapag, MaxStreicher and
Saipem are constructing the pipeline and Renco
Terna are constructing the compressor stations.
Combined, these companies have made their
own commitment to hire locally, Mr. Bradshaw
estimates that some 85% of the people working
for the TAP project in Greece and Albania have
been employed locally so far.
Natural gas is a relatively clean form of energy,
but a project like TAP inevitably brings challenges
to ensure that the environment is adversely
impacted in any way. Before any work was carried
out, the team identified potential environmental
and social impacts as part of their thorough
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
(ESIA) process. This was conducted in each of
the transit countries by technical experts and
in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
A number of measures have subsequently
been taken which show the firm’s commitment
Environmental
Sustainability and
CSR
to put sustainability into practice. Examples of
this range from sensitive water management
(including the re-use of hydrostatic test water),
to reducing the width of the pipeline right
of way in forest or other areas of concern,
comprehensive waste management, the use
of low impact, non-toxic and biodegradable
chemicals, preserving valuable topsoil,
translocating olive trees and of course, careful
pipeline route selection.

15. As previously mentioned, TAP will invest over
€55 million the communities along the pipe’s
route as part of its commitment to Corporate
Social Responsibility in. Mr. Bradshaw singles
out three initiatives in particular which have
been brought about by TAP - one in each
country: “In Greece, we have invested in
specialised equipment for the maintenance
and full operational restoration of the firefighting
fleet of the Central Macedonia Fire Brigade; in
Albania, we rehabilitated a double lane bridge
in the city of Çorovoda, which will improve
transport infrastructure as well as access to
the main hospital in the city; and finally, in Italy,
we offered a high-level training programme
dedicated to the food sector, aiming to enhance
the service quality in the tourism sector.”

16. A stable future for
Europe’s Energy
At a time when countries are looking to move
away from the most polluting fossil fuels of
oil and coal, TAP is a hugely positive step in
the right direction towards a cleaner and more
sustainable Europe. When it begins operations
in 2020, it TAP will add to a whole new reality
for European energy. When asked about the
legacy he hopes it will have, Mr. Bradshaw is
emphatic: “we can build a true long-lasting
legacy for our shareholders, the host countries
and the communities along our route. A legacy
in which we can all take pride.”
He concludes: “With regards to how we want
to be described after one or two decades of
operation, it’s simple. When our pipeline starts
transporting Caspian gas in 2020, we want to
look back with satisfaction at a job well done
- Not only a strategic piece of infrastructure,
but a pipeline that: safely delivers Caspian
gas to Europe, has minimal environmental,
cultural and socio-economic impacts during its
construction and operations and respects and
cares for the communities and stakeholders
along the route.”

18. produced by
Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG
Lindenstrasse 2
6340 Baar, Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 747 3400
Fax: +41 41 747 3401
https://www.tap-ag.com/