TAP pipeline Greek section to be completed in November 2018

Tests will be carried out by mid-2019, when hydrocarbon introduction will begin and in 2020 the project will be ready for commercial operation.

These milestones were announced by the project director for Greece, Katerina Papalexandri, as part of a briefing on the progress of the works in Kastoria.

The pipeline will initially transport 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz reservoir to Europe, with a prospect of doubling supply to 20-billion-cubic  meters, and will be linked to three points (in Pella, Kastoria and Kozani) with the Greek gas system.

The question remains of the passage of the pipeline from the region of Kavala, where about 11 km of irrigation has caused reactions from local farmers. As it became known today, the company's proposal to refer the matter to arbitration was rejected by the other side.

Ms Papalexandri, however, stressed that she remains open to dialogue with a view to completing the project within the deadlines foreseen.

The investment for the construction of the Greek section of the pipeline amounts to 1.5 billion euros, a large part of which concerns contracts, supplies of materials and services to Greek companies. A total of 367 Greek companies have signed a cooperation agreement with the construction consortium.

The pipeline passes through 13 peripheral units and 140 communities in northern Greece, with a total of 23 valves through which the flow will be interrupted in order to carry out maintenance work per section of the pipeline.

Representatives of the Consortium stressed that the project is built with stringent standards to protect the environment, restore land and maximize benefits for local communities.

As pointed out, indicatively for the crossing of the Axios River, a length of 1800 meters was bored into bedrock, one of the largest in the world, in order to protect the ecosystem.

The pipe segments are automatically welded and after welding quality control, they are placed in the ground at a depth of at least 1.3 meters.

When the restoration of the soil is completed, the land is returned to its owner, a process that has been completed for about 50% of the pipeline. A sample of soil is taken before and after the completion of the work, which is analyzed and it is common for the agronomists working with the Consortium to recommend to farmers a crop change according to the soil composition in the area.

Finally, it was pointed out that the gas compression station at Feres, in the prefecture of Evros, will also supply the district heating network.