ATHENS

Greek government and Azerbaijani Shah II sea consortium signed Friday Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), to carry the Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe in an attempt to create replacement to Nabucco project. 

 Greek's Minister of Finance Ioannis Stournaras on behalf of Greece as Host Government Agreement, Greek's Deputy Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Makis Papageorgiou and TAP's president Kjetil Tungland signed the agreement in Greece's capital Athens.

Stournaras stated Greek would become the 'energy crossroads' in the region after TAP's decision was announced.

TAP would bring an investment of 1.5 billion euros of, opening new circles of trade for Greece, Tungland said. 

Being an alternative to the Nabucco project, the natural gas to be carried through TAP is set forth to run through Greece and Albania via Turkey and reach Italy's Taranto coastal city.   

Both Nabucco and TAP's main natural gas resource is Azerbaijan's 'Shah II sea field'.

The Nabucco pipeline to be built to carry natural gas of Shah II sea field in Azerbaijan was failed Thursday for the consortium preferred Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), using another route.

The Nabucco project has faced a dead-end after Austria's gas and oil company OMV announced last night its detachment from the project and stated they approved TAP since it is "more economic".

Azerbaijani natural gas would have been carried through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria to Europe within the scope of Nabucco project, where Turkey was a member. However, consortium active in Shah II sea field in Azerbaijan had shown TAP as an alternative to Nabucco, which would carry the gas in a shorter route through Turkey to Italy. It was announced that Azerbaijan, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway and Germany were partners of the project.      

Some other natural gas pipeline projects concerning Turkey are Iraq-Turkey natural gas pipeline project, to carry gas to Turkey and Europe, the Egypt-Turkey natural gas pipeline project to transport the Egyptian gas to Jordan, Syria & Lebanon via Turkoglu-Kilis pipeline and Turkmenistan-Turkey-Europe natural gas pipeline through Khazar, Turkey to Europe.