Trans Adriatic Pipeline awards contract to Salzgitter for 270km onshore pipeline

Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has awarded a contract to Salzgitter Mannesmann International for 270km onshore line pipe, as well as the bends.

Under the terms of the contract, Salzgitter will provide 48" line pipes and bends for the onshore sections of TAP in Albania, Greece as well as Italy.

In addition, the company will provide 36" bends for the offshore section across the Adriatic.

According to TAP, the latest contract will make up about 170,000t of line pipe.

TAP managing director Ian Bradshaw said: "I would like to congratulate Salzgitter Mannesmann International for its successful bid and thank all those companies that took part in this tender.

"TAP has employed a rigorous selection process in this round of contract awards and will continue to do so, selecting companies based on their technical competence, health and safety standards as well as a number of other selection criteria that adhere to international best practice."

Further, the company plans to award various other contracts by the end of 2015, thereby enabling construction of pipeline to begin in Greece, Albania and Italy in 2016.

The pipeline will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field located in Azerbaijan to Europe.

Prior to reaching ashore in Southern Italy, it will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea.

Shareholders in TAP are BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).