Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the 870 km (540.59 miles) pipeline set to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, has appointed BG executive Ian Bradshaw as new Managing Director to replace departing Kjetil Tungland.

Bradshaw, who will take up his new position on Feb. 1, oversaw BG's global projects portfolio, such as the recently opened $20.4 billion Queensland Curtis LNG project.

Tungland will return to Norwegian oil producer Statoil after heading the pipeline project for four and a half years on secondment.

The Azeri Shah Deniz consortium chose the TAP project in June 2013 as its preferred route to transport gas from its huge gas field to Europe.

Three companies each own 20 percent of TAP: BP, SOCAR and Statoil. Fluxys has a 19 percent share, while Enagas owns 16 percent and Axpo owns 5 percent.

TAP is the largest project underway to bring fresh gas supplies to European buyers after Russia's Gazprom shelved plans last month to build its South Stream gas pipeline to southern Europe.

Reporting by Karolin Schaps