TAP connects directly to TANAP on the Turkish-Greek border and transports natural gas via Greece and Albania, across the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy. TAP plays a key role in the EU’s strategic goal of energy security and diversification of energy sources, as it is the shortest and most direct method of exporting gas from Azerbaijan to European markets. TAP also has ‘‘physical reverse flow’’ features, which allow gas from Italy to be diverted to Southeast Europe, if required. The “Intergovernmental Agreement” on the TAP project was signed among Albania, Italy, and Greece in February 2013. The TAP groundbreaking ceremony was held on 17 May 2016. The pipeline is 878 km long. Commercial operations commenced at the end of 2020. Initial transportation capacity is 10 bcma (expandable to 20 bcma). According to the tests carried out, transportation capacity was determined to be 11.5 bcma.