Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.29
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Turkey can increase Azerbaijani gas purchase via the TANAP pipeline by 3.5 times once the pipeline reaches its full capacity in 2026, Reuters agency reported citing the project's general manager.
"Once the flow in the pipeline reaches 31 billion cubic meters, Turkey will be able to buy 21 billion cubic meters of this if it wants to," the project manager Saltuk Duzyol said. "Both BOTAS or Turkish private companies can buy this."
He added that price competition could emerge from Russia's proposed new undersea pipeline, dubbed "Turkish Stream".
"In mid- to long term, it is possible that we will see price competition once the pipelines in both projects reach the Thrace," Duzyol said.
He said this competition would be good for customers both in Turkey and in Greece, adding that TANAP remains the priority project.
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. The project's cost is estimated at $10-$11 billion.
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.
Edited by SI
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