Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 10
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Iran will participate in the project Southern Gas Corridor, Deputy Head of Iranian Department at Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Business Club Alexander Sharov told Trend Apr.10.
He said that sooner or later Iran will join the project.
"It may not necessarily happen soon," he said. "Iran will certainly participate in it. But the question on investments and infrastructure arises, as quality pipes of large diameter, gas compressor stations are required. And Iran is still limited by sanctions that make it impossible to buy the necessary materials."
Sharov said that Iran in the future will acquire a part of the stake in the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP). "Maybe it will happen exactly in conjunction with a strategic partner of Iran - Russia," said the expert.
TANAP project envisages the transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey.
TANAP's initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the rest of the volume to Europe.
Turkey will obtain gas in 2018. The gas will be supplied to Europe in early 2020 after the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is constructed.
BP and the TANAP consortium signed March 13 a shareholder agreement, according to which BP will become one of the shareholders of TANAP. The agreement is one of the main documents for BP's ownership of a stake in the TANAP project.
Following the completion of a legal implementation procedure, TANAP's shareholders list will be as follows: SOCAR - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.
The project's cost is estimated at $10-$11 billion.
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