Snam Considers 20 pct Stake in TAP Pipeline

Italian gas infrastructure company Snam could take a stake of up to 20 percent in the project to build the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will carry gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, its chief executive said on Thursday.

CEO Carlo Malacarne said that as gas buyers are signing binding, long-term ship-or-pay contracts for the Azeri gas, the transmission revenue is guaranteed, which opens the way for regulated  infrastructure players like Snam to enter the project.

"We are ready to evaluate buying up to 20 percent of the project," Malacarne told Reuters at the Paris World Gas Conference.

TAP's current shareholders are BP (20 percent), the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) (20 percent), Norway's Statoil (STO) (20 percent), Belgium's Fluxys (19 percent), Spain's Enagas (16
percent) and Swiss company Axpo (5 percent).

Snam has an alliance with gas pipeline operator Fluxys to build a trans-European gas network.

Malacarne said that some companies such as BP and Statoil might not have a strong interest in remaining in the consortium as the project matures.

"We imagine that in coming months there will be exit possibilities for this type of companies, which are production companies, not infrastructure companies," Malacarne said.

He decline to comment on the price, but insiders say a 20 percent TAP stake could be valued at around 400 million euros.

Reporting by Geert De Clercq