Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas deliveries have improved security of supply for importing countries and made gas prices predictable for consumers, Professor Brenda Shaffer, a faculty member of the US Naval Postgraduate School, told Trend on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the start of TAP’s commercial operation.
She emphasized that, unlike most EU members, the United Nations and the International Energy Agency, in the early 2010s, Azerbaijan had the foresight to understand that Europe would need larger volumes of natural gas and that global demand for natural gas was not decreasing, but rather increasing.
“At the time of the final investment decision (FID) on TAP, most countries in the world had the illusion that the “energy transition” from fossil fuels to renewable energy was imminent. But Azerbaijan and SOCAR have correctly assessed that there is currently no renewable substitute for natural gas and that, in fact, renewables create demand for natural gas, for baseload energy, to enable stable energy supply. Globally, demand for renewable energy has increased over the past decade, but demand for coal and natural gas has increased even more. There is no energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Shaffer said.
She noted that Brussels considers Azerbaijan to be an extremely reliable gas supplier and also a reliable geopolitical partner.
“The Southern Gas Corridor has recently received a new type of investor – equity funds. They can open up new opportunities. A new era of natural gas demand is emerging. Countries are now openly declaring that they need gas. Soon, many multilateral institutions and countries will withdraw their opposition to public financing of natural gas. I believe that, of all energy sources, gas and coal will grow the fastest in the next decade. The trend in gas demand is excellent for SOCAR and Azerbaijan,” Shaffer concluded.
On 15 November 2020, four and a half years after the inauguration of construction works, the 878 km natural gas transmission system crossing Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy began commercial operation. On 31 December 2020, TAP began transporting its first gas. TAP’s annual capacity is 10 billion cubic meters, with the possibility of expansion to 20 billion cubic meters.