Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 18 / Trend, A. Tagiyeva /
Locally produced pipes will be used in the construction of the Trans Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said, Ihlas reported on Friday.
The minister said that Turkey and Azerbaijan reached a preliminary agreement on this issue during the initial stages of project discussion.
"The volume of the TANAP gas pipeline will reach two million tons. The project's partners will begin talks with local producers on the manufacturing of pipes for the project", Yildiz said.
SOCAR's partners on the Shah Deniz development project previously expressed an interest in participating in the TANAP project. According to preliminary data, the partners intend to distribute a 29 percent share in TANAP as follows: Statoil and BP are to receive 12 percent each and Total would get 5 percent.
Presently, a 20 percent share in TANAP belongs to Turkish BOTAS and TPAO, while 80 percent is owned by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). SOCAR intends to retain 51 percent of the equity in the project. Turkey will keep its 20 percent of the equity.
Earlier, SOCAR Turkey's Energy head, board member of the Petkim Petrochemical Complex, Kenan Yavuz said that due to changes in TANAP's final route, its cost will be increased by $3 billion to $10 billion.
The TANAP project envisages construction of a pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country's western border to supply gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey. The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest to Europe.