Kjetil Tungland will return to Norway after having headed the joint venture project for over four and half years and having completed his Statoil secondment with TAP. Kjetil joined TAP in April 2010 and successfully took the project to selection in June 2013.
Ian joins TAP from the BG Group where he has worked since 2005 in various senior executive positions. His most recent position was Senior Vice President for Capital Projects, overseeing the delivery of the Group’s global project portfolio.
Prior to this, Ian was Senior Vice President for BG in Australia, playing a leading role in successfully taking the QCLNG mega-project to the BG Board for final investment decision.
Ian’s career spans thirty four years of technical and commercial experience in the global oil and gas industry in both project and corporate roles. After reading Engineering Science at Durham University, he spent fifteen years in a number of technical and project management positions with Shell, based in the UK, Netherlands, Malaysia and Norway. During his time at Shell, Ian’s responsibilities included working for Shell’s commercial portfolio in the UK North Sea as Senior Business Development Manager, responsible for delivering the 10-party SEAL pipeline agreements.
Following this, Ian broadened his commercial experience in the downstream, where he became Supply, Operations and Trading Manager for Shell Gas Direct (UK Gas & Power Marketing & Trading Company) which became part of Shell Energy Europe.
In 2008 Ian completed the Senior Executive Programme at Columbia University
in New York and is a fellow of the Institute of Directors.
Andy Lane, Chairman of TAP’s Board of Directors said: "I am delighted that we have hired Ian to lead the TAP project into its next and important phase as we prepare for pipeline construction, beginning in 2016. Ian has a wealth of oil and gas project experience that will be a great asset in taking the project forward to completion.
I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of the entire TAP board to express our great thanks to Kjetil, for his determination, dedication and above all his strong and committed leadership to drive TAP to extraordinary success resulting in the selection of TAP in June 2013 as the preferred European export pipeline to transport Shah Deniz II gas to Europe.”
ENDS
About the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)
TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe. The approximately 870 km long pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
TAP’s routing can facilitate gas supply to several South Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and others. TAP’s landfall in Italy provides multiple opportunities for further transport of Caspian natural gas to some of the largest European markets such as Germany, France, the UK, Switzerland and Austria.
TAP will promote the economic development and job creation along the pipeline route; it will be a major source of foreign direct investment and it is not dependent on grants or subsidies. With first gas sales to Georgia and Turkey targeted for late 2018, first deliveries to Europe will follow approximately a year later.
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).
