BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. The timeline for the
capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) reaching above 20
billion cubic meters is primarily driven by market developments,
TAP Managing Director Luca Schieppati said in an exclusive
interview with Trend ahead of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory
Council’s meeting in Baku.
He pointed out that the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council
is a key forum that brings together representatives from all over
the world, international organisations, financial institutions and
the energy industry, providing a platform to reflect on the
strategic relevance of the Corridor as critical infrastructure
underpinning Europe’s energy security and supply
diversification.
“In 2025, TAP achieved several important milestones, from
reaching the 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas
transported to Europe, to completing five years of operations and
successfully delivering the first level of expansion on time and
within budget without interrupting continuous gas flows. This
performance would not have been possible without close coordination
with national regulatory authorities, the governments of our host
countries, European Union institutions, adjacent TSOs and upstream
partners, demonstrating the importance of cooperation across the
broader gas network. So, in this context, the SGC Advisory Council
provides an important opportunity to engage directly with these
partners and exchange views on the future of this strategic energy
corridor,” said the managing director.
Schieppati pointed out that since the start of the year, TAP has
been making available the additional 1.2 billion cubic meters per
year (bcm/a) of long-term capacity booked during the 2021 Market
Test.
“This additional long-term capacity has been enabled through the
successful completion of project works at TAP’s compressor station
in Greece, delivering the first level of capacity expansion.
Initiated in January 2024, the project was completed on time and
safely demonstrating TAP’s operational resilience, strong planning
discipline, and execution excellence. Provided there is interest
from the market, TAP has the potential to further increase its
capacity, with the ability to reach over 20 bcm per year.
Any further expansion could be initiated through an open,
transparent and non-discriminatory market test process, held at
least every two years. The scale and timing of any additional
expansion will depend on the level of accumulated binding capacity
requests received during a market test and their economic
viability. So, the timeline for reaching capacity level above 20
bcm per year is primarily driven by market developments,” he
explained.
The managing director recalled that the 2025 Market Test,
launched in July, is currently ongoing.
“TAP offers capacity for short-term products to the market
through the PRISMA capacity booking platform and in line with the
ENTSOG Auction Calendar,” he added.
As for the volumes delivered, Schieppati noted that since the
start of the operations, the pipeline has transported over 55.7 bcm
to Europe. “Of this, 46.4 bcm was delivered to Italy, 5.3 bcm to
Greece, 3.7 to Bulgaria. So far in 2026 we have delivered over 1.5
bcm to Europe. (cut-off date: 21 February 2026).”
Regarding emission reduction policy, the managing director noted
that TAP fully recognises its role in supporting Europe’s energy
transition, alongside its contribution to energy security.
“In parallel with its operational mandate, TAP is in a
decarbonisation pathway for its own operations. As part of TAP’s
Long-Term Energy Transition Strategy towards 2050, the Company
implemented a Carbon Management Plan covering the period 2022–2025.
This plan included more than 50 initiatives designed to reduce
TAP’s carbon footprint by 5%, methane emissions by 8% compared to
forecast levels, and fugitive emissions by 54% compared to LDAR
baseline data over the same period.
TAP is well on track to meet its near-term targets. In 2025, TAP
achieved an overall reduction of more than 25% in greenhouse gas
emissions and over 50% in methane emissions compared to forecast,
as well as a reduction of more than 85% in fugitive emissions
compared to the baseline data. Our decarbonisation efforts focus on
reducing direct CO₂ emissions through energy-efficiency measures,
electrification studies, the potential use of hydrogen and
biomethane, and the implementation of a Methane Emissions Reduction
Plan, with the objective of achieving OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard later
this year,” Schieppati concluded.
