BAKU, June 28 (Reuters) - The consortium developingAzerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field has chosen the Trans AdriaticPipeline (TAP) for natural gas deliveries to Europe, officials(OR someone more specific) said on Friday, defeating the rivalNabucco West project.
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The project, first envisioned more than a decade ago,reflects a European Union push for alternatives to Russian gasimports and is expected to start flowing in 2019.
TAP is fronted by Norway's Statoil, Swiss companyAXPO and E.ON Ruhrgas of Germany.
The TAP pipeline will collect Azeri gas in Turkey and carryit across Greece and Albania before reaching southern Italy,stretching 870 kilometres (540 miles).
The leading company in Nabucco West is Austria's OMV.
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