Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
As of Jan. 1, 2018, the World Bank (WB) allocated $667.27 million or 83.4 percent of the loan envisaged for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), according to the statistics published on the bank's website.
The beneficiaries of a $800 million loan, approved by the WB Board of Directors on Dec. 20, 2016 are Southern Gas Corridor CJSC (Azerbaijan) and BOTAS (Turkey).
“TANAP not only will boost competitiveness and create new economic opportunities for Azerbaijani and Turkish people, but will also support regional trade and energy security of Turkey and Europe,” the WB told Azernews.
The WB said the project will help Azerbaijan to diversify its gas sales markets and Turkey - to secure its energy supply.
“It is one of the top priority infrastructure projects for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the countries in Southeast Europe,” WB said. “Assistance in the implementation of such ambitious projects as TANAP reflects the commitment of the World Bank Group to support the countries’ development priorities.”
“The project contributes to the achievement of the WB’s strategic objectives in partnership with Azerbaijan, in particular, integration of the country into regional and European energy markets,” WB said.
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 natural 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.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.
As part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).