A pipeline consortium planning to send more non-Russian gas to the European market said it was on pace to start consortium by next year. The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline consortium announced it awarded a contract to Salzgitter Mannesmann International, a leader in European steel, to provide 48-inch pipelines for the onshore sections of the planned gas artery through southern Europe. TAP is slated to transport natural gas from the second phase of the Shah Deniz natural gas field off the coast of Azerbaijan as early as 2019. BP, leading Azeri developments alongside a state-backed energy company, has awarded more than $1 billion in development contracts since selecting the TAP as its option for Shah Deniz in 2013. […]