Baku, Azerbaijan, July 31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The European Commission will allocate 5 million euros worth grant for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline ( TANAP ), which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, envisaging transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, said a message from TANAP consortium.
The grant will be allocated under the CEF Energy Work Program.
The funds will be spent on the monitoring and verification of engineering work and Cathodic Protection design procedure under TANAP project.
"European Union countries have decided to invest a total of 48.4 million euros in infrastructure projects and TANAP has been one of the two natural gas projects selected for financial support under the program's first call for proposals,” said the message.
Reportedly, the total amount of grants allocated by EU for TANAP has exceeded 15 million euros since 2014.
A ceremony to launch Phase 0 of TANAP took place June 12 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.
First commercial gas deliveries to Turkey commenced within the Southern Gas Corridor on June 30.
TANAP, together with Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which provides for the transportation of gas from the Azerbaijani field Shah Deniz to Europe.
The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About six billion cubic meters will be supplied to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. After completion of the TAP, the gas will reach Europe in early 2020.
The share distribution in TANAP is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent, Botas - 30 percent, and BP - 12 percent.
The launching ceremony of the first stage of the Southern Gas Corridor project was held in Baku on May 29.
The gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already gone through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor - from the Sangachal terminal to the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline.
The Southern Gas Corridor, which costs more than $40 billion, 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.
---
Follow the author on Twitter:@Lyaman_Zeyn