Baku, December 8, AZERTAC “Volumes heading to Italy (approximately 8.5 bcm/y) will represent around 12% of the national demand for gas,” head of external affairs at TAP Vugar Veysalov told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.“Before the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) was built, Italian businesses were paying a higher price for energy compared to their European peers. The new pipeline, which will also supply Greece and Bulgaria, will bring greater flexibility of prices,” he emphasized. “As the European leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP will bring natural gas to Europe from a new source and through a new route, thus reinforcing the continent’s security and diversification of supplies. Volumes heading to Italy (approximately 8.5 bcm/y) will represent around 12% of the national demand for gas; in South Eastern Europe, with volumes of lesser magnitude, the gas flowing through TAP will supply between the 20% and the 30% of the yearly gas demand of Greece and Bulgaria, respectively. Depending on market conditions we are thoroughly and constantly assessing, TAP could double its capacity to 20 bcm/y with minor modifications to the system,” Veysalov added.Four and a half years after the inauguration of construction works in Thessaloniki, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), an 878-km gas transportation system crossing Greece, Albania, the Adriatic Sea and Italy, began commercial operations.A diverse team of industry professionals worked diligently and effectively under challenging conditions to safely deliver a strategic piece of energy infrastructure on schedule.TAP is the European leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, a gateway project that will transport 10 billion cubic metres (bcm/a) of new gas supplies from Azerbaijan to multiple markets in Europe. The TAP system operates in line with internationally recognized quality, health, safety and environmental standards, and is designed with the potential to double its throughput capacity to 20 bcm/a.The 878km long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy, where it will connect to Italy’s gas transportation grid operated by SNAM Rete Gas.TAP is the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor, enhancing Europe’s energy security and contributing to decarbonisation and the diversification of gas supplies.TAP’s shareholders include BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).