European Investment Bank Delays Loan Decision for Major Gas Pipeline Project

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The European Investment Bank (EIB) has postponed making a decision on whether to loan 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) to the controversial Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project that will bring gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.

The EIB was expected to make its decision last week, but the project has come under fire from many environmental, agricultural and human rights groups. The loan would also be the largest ever granted by the EIB, the European Union's (EU) bank. The bank's board of directors claimed that it needs more time to assess the project and a final decision will not be made until at least February 2018. The pipeline is expected to cost roughly 4.5 billion euro ($5.2 billion) in total.

The 870-kilometre (km) Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Project will cross northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network. It forms part of the massive Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, a 3500-km long network of gas pipelines that will link Europe to the resource-rich shores of Azerbaijan. It will help Europe reduce its reliance on Russian gas imports, which account for more than a quarter of the EU's total demand and which have in the past been halted due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the main transit country for European gas. The EU believes the corridor could eventually supply 20% of its gas needs.

TAP's initial capacity of 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year is equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately seven million households in Europe. In the future, the addition of two extra compressor stations could double throughput to more than 20 bcm.

The Southern Gas Corridor is expected to bring gas from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via a number of key pipeline projects including the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy, the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) running through Turkey, and the South Caucasus pipeline extension through Georgia.

In October, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a $500 million loan for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP).

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.