BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2. Türkiye to export natural gas to Nakhchivan, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, Trend reports.
According to him, work on the Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline is in its final stages. The minister added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend the opening ceremony of the gas pipeline, which will be put into operation next week.
The event will also be attended by high-ranking officials of the two countries.
Azerbaijan and Türkiye signed a memorandum of understanding on Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline on December 15, 2020. The project envisaged cooperation between Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and Türkiye’s BOTAS.
The Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline will not only allow for the diversification of Nakhchivan's gas supply but also eliminate its dependence on a single source. The project is among the priority initiatives outlined in the "State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for 2023-2027".
The pipeline stretches 97.5 kilometers from Igdir to the Sadarak district, including a 17.5-kilometer Azerbaijani section and an 80-kilometer Turkish section. The pipeline is capable of transporting 2 million cubic meters of gas per day and 730 million cubic meters annually. This will fully meet Nakhchivan's gas needs.
Furthermore, the pipeline's capacity can be more than doubled in the future.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the gas pipeline took place on September 25, 2023.