FSUOGM: Aliyev says TAP pipeline will reach full capacity in 2022

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, said on April 29 that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) was on track to reach its full capacity of 10bn cubic metres per year in 2022, up from 8.2 bcm in 2021. The system will deliver 10bn cubic metres of natural gas to Italy, he stated at a conference in Baku.

Aliyev said TAP had no immediate plans to increase throughput, as it had no contracts in place that provided for boosting delivery volumes. But if the pipeline consortium’s shareholders consent, he remarked, they could eventually double the system’s capacity to 20 bcm per year after installing more compressor stations.

“I do not want to go much into technical details now, but it will require the shareholders of the TAP pipeline to reach a joint opinion and to adopt a relevant investment decision. However, one ought to understand that this issue cannot be resolved within a month,” he explained in a speech that was broadcast live on social media.