EU welcomes gas pipeline from Azerbaijan

The European Commission Friday welcomed the final selection of the pipeline delivering Azeri gas to Europe. The Consortium of the Shah Deniz II gas field, that holds the license for exploiting the 16 bcm a year gas reserves, has chosen the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to bring the gas from the Turkish border via Greece and Albania to Italy. "I welcome today's decision by the Shah Deniz II Consortium selecting the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as the European route of the Southern Gas Corridor. This is a shared success for Europe and a milestone in strengthening the energy security of our Union," said the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement. On his part, EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said: "We have a definite commitment from Azerbaijan that gas will be directly delivered to Europe through a new dedicated gas pipeline system. We now have a new partner for gas, and I am confident that we will receive more gas in the future." The new pipeline TANAP is being built in Turkey, a new gas infrastructure will directly link the Caspian Sea to Europe, he noted.