* Fluxys says aim is to finish negotiations as soon aspossible
* BP, SOCAR, Total also have options to take stakes
BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) - Belgian gas pipeline operatorFluxys is likely to buy a stake in the Trans-AdriaticPipeline (TAP) consortium by August, TAP Managing DirectorKjetil Tungland said on Friday.
"BP, SOCAR, and Total have options to joinas shareholders of TAP, and Fluxys will most likely join byAugust," Tungland told Reuters by telephone.
BP, SOCAR and Total can also exercise their options over thecoming month.
Fluxys CEO Walter Peeraer said the aim was to finalise thedeal "as soon as possible".
"Being a partner in TAP would closely fit in with ourstrategy of bridging the markets to foster security of supplyand market liquidity in Europe," Peeraer told Reuters by email.
Fluxys, which owns gas grids in six European countries, saidearlier this month it would buy a stake in TAP if the pipelinewere selected to ship Azeri gas to the European Union.
The consortium developing Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas fieldannounced on Friday it had chosen TAP rather than the rivalNabucco West project.