Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.30
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, which is developed jointly by Turkey and Azerbaijan is a strategic project of great importance for Europe’s energy security as well, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Trend, Azertac and APA.
He expressed confidence that the sides will mark the commissioning of TANAP in the near future.
“We rank second after China among the countries of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of increasing energy demand. In this regard, TANAP has a crucial importance in terms of meeting the rapidly increasing natural gas demand of Turkey,” said Turkey’s president.
At the same time, gas supply from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Europe will definitely make contribution to Europe’s energy diversification, said Erdogan, adding that serious efforts are underway to connect Turkmen gas to this project.
He noted that gas to be received as part of TANAP’s first phase has been included in Turkey’s gas demand report for the upcoming period.
On the other hand, work continues on the implementation of the TurkStream pipeline project in order to ensure the supply of Russian gas currently received through Balkans directly through the Black Sea, added Erdogan.
Turkey’s president noted that his country is ready to consider new projects for gas supply from Eastern Mediterranean and Iraq.
“Researches show that Eastern Mediterranean gas has turned into a new alternative for diversification of our sources. Among all these gas supply projects, Turkey participates in the most beneficial project from the financial point of view and shortest route of supply to Europe. We will continue to make new investments in order to turn our country into a natural gas and energy trade center,” he concluded.
TANAP project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018 and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline's construction the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.
The length of TANAP is 1,850 kilometers with an initial capacity of 16 billion cubic meters of gas. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas is meant to be delivered to Turkey, with the remaining volume to be supplied to Europe.