Government officials in Italy and Greece have approved an environmental impact statement for part of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will carry gas from the BP-operated Shah Deniz Phase II field in the Caspian Sea to Europe.

The pipeline will extend 870 km (543 miles) including a deepwater crossing of the Adriatic Sea at a depth of up to 870?m (2,850 ft), and will connect with the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline to take gas from Shah Deniz Phase II offshore Azerbaijan.

Italy’s Minister of Environment, Gianluca Galletti, signed a decree of environmental compatibility for the project and Greece’s Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change has also given its formal approval.