Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP) announced today that BP Plc, Azeri SOCAR, France's Total SA, and Belgian Fluxys—members of the international consortium developing the giant Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan—have exercised their option to join the Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG (TAP).
BP and state-owned Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR have each taken a 20% share while Total has acquired 10%. The BP-led group exercised a call option that gives it control of a 50% stake in the pipeline project.
Prior to this action, Norway's Statoil ASA and and Swiss-based Axpo Holding AG each held 42.5% stakes in the TAP, and Germany's E.ON SE (EOAN.XE) had held 15%.
In addition, Fluxys, a major gas transit operator in Europe, has opted to join TAP, taking a 16% stake in the project. TAP’s shareholders, Axpo of Switzerland, Statoil of Norway and E.ON of Germany also continue their support of the project.
TAP’s shareholding is now comprised of BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (16%), Total (10%), E.ON (9%) and Axpo (5%).
The TAP is designed to carry natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in the Azerbaijani region of the Caspian to Italy. The pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline, or TANAP, on the Turkish-Greek border, then cross Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in southern Italy.
In late June, the Shah Deniz consortium selected TAP to move the natural gas to Europe, over the rival Nabucco West proposal that would send the Azerbaijani gas to Austria via the Balkans.
Kjetil Tungland, Managing Director for TAP said: “I would like to welcome the Shah Deniz shareholders and Fluxys to the TAP project. Our new shareholders will significantly enhance TAP’s strategic position in becoming an integral link between both their upstream and downstream businesses. This will further strengthen the integration of the entire Southern Gas Corridor value chain and support TAP’s delivery of the project on time and on budget. ”
TAP’s shareholders remain open to further strategic partners joining the project in the future.
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