Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov.7
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP) could also count on supply of Turkmen gas to Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
He made the remarks following the negations with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat, a source close to the talks told Trend.
"TANAP may transport gas both from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to Europe through Turkey's territory," Erdogan said.
The president added that Turkey pays special attention to Europe's energy security issues.
After the high-level negotiations held on Nov.7, Turkmenistan's Turkmengaz State Concern and Turkish company Atagaz signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the purchase and sale of natural gas.
The TANAP project envisages gas transportation from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field to Europe via Turkey.
The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
Around six billion cubic meters of the total volume of gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe per year. In the future, the pipeline may be expanded up to 31 billion cubic meters a year.
Plans are to commission the TANAP pipeline in 2018.
The gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of the field's development will be exported to Turkey and to the European markets by means of expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
The first gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018 and to Europe in 2019.
Currently, SOCAR legally holds 70 percent of share in the TANAP project, while Turkey's Botas owns 30 percent share. The procedure of legal execution of the transaction on purchasing 12 percent of SOCAR's share in the TANAP project by BP will be completed by late 2014.
Subsequently, the shareholders of the TANAP will be as follows: SOCAR - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.
Turkmenistan is one of the key players in the gas market in the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia. Turkey expresses interest in re-export of Turkmen gas to Europe. The most optimal option is to lay a 300-kilometer gas pipeline through the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan.
As is known, two of the Caspian Sea countries, namely, Russia and Iran oppose this project based on environmental safety issues.
Turkmenistan, for its part, expressed readiness to hold a corresponding environmental review of the project with participation of international experts.
"There are no deep contradictions between our countries in the energy sphere in the Caspian Sea," Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said at the summit of heads of Caspian Sea countries in Astrakhan in September 2014.
"I would like to stress that we are against of giving political overtone to any unresolved issues here," the president added.
Berdimuhamedov added that it is fully applicable to the prospects for laying a pipeline under the Caspian Sea.
"Turkmenistan is firmly convinced that the construction of such pipelines is the sovereign right of the states through the bottom section of which they run," Berdimuhamedov said. "Therefore these pipelines can be constructed only with their consent, naturally in compliance with the highest international environmental standards," Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary state news service quoted the president as saying.
The EU issued a mandate in September 2011 to start negotiations on working out an agreement between EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project.
Azerbaijan earlier expressed readiness to offer its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for the implementation of this project.
Edited by CN