Construction of new Azeri pipeline due this year, Turkey says
The construction of the Trans Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which will transport Azeri gas to Turkey and other markets in Europe, could
begin this year, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was quoted as saying on Wednesday in Bratislava.
Before TANAP, Turkey considered joining an EU-backed proposal to build a natural gas pipeline, Nabucco, to transport 31 billion cubic meters of gas from the Caspian Sea across Turkey, through the Balkans to Central and Eastern Europe.
Nabucco, however, was downsized and shortened from its initial plans last year because of high costs and a lack of gas suppliers.
Erdoğan said the EU failed to provide the necessary funding for Nabucco. “We have turned our face to a new project. …
Both the Turkish and Azerbaijani parliaments have ratified the agreement for the construction of TANAP. I think we could begin construction before the end of this year,” he said.
Baku has made no comment on when construction could begin.
In December of last year, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a consortium to build a gas pipeline to supply gas from the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan to Europe through Turkish territory. At present, Turkish state pipeline company
BOTAS has a 20 percent stake in TANAP, and the State Oil Company of the
Azerbaijan Republic has an 80 percent share. Observers argued that Turkey should have “more favorable” conditions in TANAP, including the right to store and sell a certain portion of the gas that flows through.
The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach
16 bcm per year. About
6 bcm of the volume will be allocated to Turkey, while
the rest will be transported to Europe.
7 February 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN,