Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 14
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will strengthen Turkey’s energy security and contribute to the diversification of energy sources, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar said, Turkish media reported.
At the same time, TANAP will make it possible to strengthen the strategic role of Turkey in the region, the minister said.
TANAP will account for 10 percent of all gas imports to Turkey, which is important in terms of diversifying supplies, he added.
He said that three countries - Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia - showed to the whole world that they can implement such a big project, which contributes to the prosperity and growth of the well-being of the population of the region.
Bayraktar stressed that the TANAP project was implemented in record time and its implementation will allow gas from Azerbaijan to enter the European markets for the first time.
A ceremony to launch Phase 0 of TANAP took place June 12 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir.
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.
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