SOCAR to get 20% share in TAP project

State Oil company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), BP and Total will get a 50 percent stake broken down to 20, 20 and 10 percent respectively, in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline gas pipeline project (TAP), Socar President Rovnag Abdullayev told media here on Wednesday. According to Abdullayev, the legalisation process is currently underway. Earlier the Trans Adriatic Pipeline has been chosen to deliver 10 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijan's gas condensate field Shah Deniz to Europe. Abdullayev said that the partners for the Shah Deniz development will coordinate and sign all agreements and contracts for the export of Azerbaijani gas to Europe by late 2013. The final financial decision on the second stage of the Shah Deniz field development project will be made by the end of this year, Abdullayev said. The SOCAR President said the work is underway as part of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) implementation which is a part of the route of Azerbaijani gas delivery to Europe. The TAP project is designed to transport gas from the Caspian region via Greece and Albania and across the Adriatic Sea to the south of Italy and further to Western Europe. TAP's initial pipeline capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters per year. TAP's shareholders are AXPO of Switzerland (42.5 percent) , Norway's Statoil (42.5 percent) and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany (15 percent).