Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
Groundbreaking ceremony of TANAP (Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline) that took place earlier March 17 in Turkey, reconfirms that the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor is on schedule, Lisa Givert, TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) Head of Communications told Trend.
"Today's milestone reconfirms that the various pieces in the Southern Gas Corridor remain on schedule to bring the first Shah Deniz II gas to Europe in early 2020," Givert said.
TANAP, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which plans to carry natural gas sourced in Azerbaijan to Europe through Turkey. On March 17, the foundation for TANAP's construction was laid in the Turkish province of Kars. The groundbreaking ceremony has kicked off with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili.
Givert said that the construction phases of TAP and TANAP are very much aligned.
She mentioned that in November 2012, TAP and TANAP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which established a technical and commercial cooperation between the two pipelines and formalised a mutual framework and forum for coordinated activities and exchange of information.
"TAP continues its cooperation with the TANAP project since this time," Givert said.
The 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 approximately 870 km long TAP will connect with TANAP near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
The initial capacity of TAP will be 10 billion cubic meters per year, but it can easily be expanded to 20 billion cubic meters per year as the new volumes of gas come on stream. The construction of TAP is expected to start in 2016.
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Aygun Badalova is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AygunBadalova