Trans Adriatic Pipeline News

Bulgarian state energy holding company BEH and Greek natural gas company Gastrade have set up a joint task force to prepare a proposal to build an off-shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in northern Greece, Gastrade said on Tuesday. Greece currently has one LNG terminal on an islet off Athens and Gastrade, part of Greek energy group Copelouzos, is planning a second LNG terminal near the northern city of Alexandroupolis. The task force will prepare and submit a proposal to the Bulgarian government for the best possible way to take part in the project, Gastrade said in a statement. The facility, with an estimated annual capacity of 6.1 billion cubic metres (bcm)…

Italy signed a decree on Wednesday authorising the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, the Industry Ministry said.   Work on the pipeline will start before May 16 next year and it will be completed and ready for use before the end of 2020, the ministry said in a statement. The decree is the final step in a complex permitting process.   Rome has said the TAP pipeline is strategic infrastructure for Italy which is seeking to diversify its energy sources.     (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Steve Scherer)

On May 1, 2014 Statoil completed the farm down of 10% of its interest of 25.5% in the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement and the South Caucasus Pipeline Company Limited to BP (3.33%) and SOCAR (6.67%). The consideration for the sale and transfer of these assets is USD 1.45 billion. The divestment that was announced in December 2013, is in line with Statoil’s strategy of portfolio optimisation based on rigid prioritisation of future investments, and capturing value created from a significant gas position.

Gazprom has abandoned plans to build a section of its disputed South Stream gas pipeline to Italy, two sources close to the company said on Wednesday, a day after Gazprom announced a deal with OMV to build a branch to Austria. The memorandum of understanding with the Austrian oil and gas company foresees building a section of the giant pipeline from Hungary to OMV's Central European Gas Hub near Vienna. "The additional Italian spur option was effectively ditched. Gas will now be delivered to the Austrian hub, from where it could go to many destinations in Europe along the existing pipelines," one of the sources said. Gazprom is pushing ahead with South Stream…

Reuters - Greece launched an international tender on Monday for a study to assess the feasibility of a proposed pipeline to transmit gas from Israel and Cyprus in an effort to reduce dependence on Russian supplies. The Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline is designed to initially carry 8 billion cubic meters a year of Israeli and Cypriot gas. It would stretch from Israel's Leviathan natural gas field to Greece and onto European markets through the IGI-Poseidon pipeline, led by Italian utility Edison and state-controlled Greek utility DEPA. The European Commission has said Cypriot gas could play an important role in diversifying supplies but its development is complicated by the long-standing rift between Cyprus and Turkey. The pipeline would pass through disputed waters.

Statoil  ASA has together with partners in the Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan  made a final investment decision for the Stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz gas field, in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan. Statoil also enters an agreement to divest a 10% share of its 25.5% holdings in Shah Deniz and the South Caucasus Pipeline. The BP operated Shah Deniz consortium  announces the final investment decision for the Stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz gas field, in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan. This decision triggers plans to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX) through Azerbaijan and Georgia, to construct the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) across Turkey and to construct the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) across Greece, Albania and into Italy.

Statoil's second quarter 2013 net operating income was NOK 34.3 billion. Adjusted earnings were NOK 38.0 billion. "Statoil delivered an operationally solid quarter. We produced as planned, delivering record production from our portfolio outside Norway. We are on track and maintain our guidance for 2013," said Helge Lund, Statoil's president and CEO. "Our financial results were impacted by lower prices for liquids and gas and weak trading results. However, we have maintained good cost control and delivered strong earnings, particularly from our international portfolio. In the quarter, Statoil ramped up several fields. The company continues to have a high activity level in projects on the Norwegian continental shelf…