Snam Signs MOU for Majority Share in TAG

Italy’s Snam signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purchase of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) 89% stake in TAG, with the intention to increase its clout in Europe and to support the development of a gas hub in Italy. 

Snam, controlled by state lender CDP, signed a MoU for the company connecting the Slovakian-Austrian border with the entry-point of Tarvisio in Italy. The system is made up of 3 pipelines, each 380 km long, and 5 compression stations.

"For the 2014-2017 period we are confirming a robust investment plan of 6 billion euro, focused on further enhancing the security and flexibility of the Italian gas infrastructure in the context of a more closely integrated European network," Carlo Malacarne, Snam CEO, commented in a note released on Wednesday.

The company expects to invest 1.3 billion euro in 2014, with other 4.7 billion in the next three years.

‘The plan is aimed at further developing the gas infrastructure system in Italy, with a view to promoting the true interconnection of the European networks, increasing diversification of supply and flexibility of the system,’ reads the press release.

The company said it would invest to develop transport and regasification infrastructures in Italy, also increasing by 18% the storage capacity in the period 2013-2017. On an international level, the company continues its expansion after the purchase of a 45% stake in the French transport and storage company TIGF and the investment in Interconnector (UK), the undersea pipeline connecting the United Kingdom to continental Europe. 

In May 2012, CDP’s President Franco Bassanini said that the TAG pipeline could have merged with Snam’s gas transport network.