TAP’s proposed landing point in Italy is between San Foca and Torre Specchia Ruggeri in the municipality of Melendugno (Lecce). The landfall section of the pipeline will be constructed using state-of-the-art micro-tunneling technology which minimizes the risk to local marine wild-life such as Posidonia sea grass and which avoids causing coastal erosion.
The initial survey will conduct resistivity analysis around the landfall area, which will be used to identify and assess the presence of any hollow areas beneath the soil surface to ensure that the safe construction of the pipeline. The work will be carried out by the TAP project with the support of the sub-contractor D’Appolonia, an Italian leader in engineering with core competencies in civil, geotechnical, and environmental engineering; geology and geophysics, hydrology and hydraulics.
Paul Pasteris, TAP’s Country Manager for Italy , said: “Our engineers would like to investigate in detail the proposed pipeline route to ensure that the surface is suitable for construction. We will be collecting additional information to support the routing in this area. This will further establish that that the proposed corridor has been carefully analyzed and will not have any long term effects on the environment or landscape.”
TAP plans to conduct additional onshore and offshore surveys later in the autumn.
This will involve investigating various conditions of the soil beneath the ground’s surface along the planned pipeline route and around the Pipeline Receiving Terminal as well as assessing background noise levels in the area.
TAP carries out its surveys according to the highest international standards with regards to the environment, health and safety, to ensure no impact to the local territory or environment. In advance of the work taking place, the project team has already and will continue to contact those individuals affected to inform and agree with them of the details of the upcoming surveys. The project’s representatives are available to answer any questions from the journalists or from the community.
TAP’s Italian section will consist of a 5 km onshore and 45 km offshore pipeline, stretching to a Pipeline Receiving Terminal in the province of Lecce. TAP will tie-in with the Italian gas network, operated by Snam Rete Gas.
The current route of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, with a landfall in the province of Lecce, has been identified after three years of intensive field work in Italy. A group of experienced Italian and international environmental, social and technical experts and engineering companies have analysed numerous alternatives and selected this route which avoids crossing environmentally sensitive areas and which minimises potential negative social or economic impacts.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, September 17, 2012; Image: TAP