Natural Gas   Intergovernmental

6/13/2018

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) Project (I)

President of the Republic Erdoğan: “We are opening Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline which is the backbone of the southern gas corridor and which we define as the silk road of energy. TANAP is also an indicator of multilateral cooperation. TANAP will start off with 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum. 6 billion is being transmitted to Turkey and 10 billion to Europe. Turkey has taken another step in becoming a hub with critical role at each ring of the chain extending to ultimate consumers from the producer instead of being a transit country.”

Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev: “TAP project will also be completed in two years besides TANAP. The southern gas corridor necessitating an investment of $ 40 billion and which is the most extensive infrastructure project of Europe will thus be put into life. Rich gas resources of Azerbaijan will reach the Turkish and European markets in a rapid and reliable manner. Southern Gas Corridor is an energy security project.”

The opening ceremony is held on June 12, 2018 in Eskişehir for Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) formed by the partnership of SOCAR, BOTAŞ and BP and which will transmit Azeri natural gas to Europe over Turkey. President of the Republic Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijan’s President İlham Aliyev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroschenko, Serbian President Alexander Vucic and President of TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Mustafa Akıncı participated in the ceremony. There was also participation by SOCAR’s President and TANAP’s Chairman of the Board Rövnag Abdullayev, top level officials from SOCAR, BP and BOTAŞ besides representatives from the USA, European Union and member countries of the Southern Gas Corridor.

President of the Republic Erdoğan switched the valve to start the initial gas flow together with Azerbaijan’s President İlham Aliyev, President of TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Mustafa Akıncı, Serbian President Vucic and Ukrainian President Petro Poroschenko.

President of the Republic Erdoğan, “TANAP is an indicator of multilateral cooperation”

President of the Republic Erdoğan spoke as follows during the speech he delivered at the ceremony: “We are opening Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline which is the backbone of the southern gas corridor and which we define as the silk road of energy. I particularly congratulate those who spent their efforts to put the line into life before the planned date. The realization of the project has been possible thanks to the bilateral trust between Turkey and Azerbaijan more than anything else. Harmony and understanding among the producer besides the transit and consumer countries and also among companies has contributed to speed up the process. TANAP is also an indicator of multilateral cooperation. Our understanding of energy as a basis of cooperation and not dispute has come to reality by means of TANAP.”

Erdoğan stating that Caspian gas is being transmitted to Europe for the first time, said “There is no doubt that the idea of transmitting energy resources in the Caspian basin to Europe is not new and we have already realized a number of gigantic projects before. We have started with constructing Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline. Our strategic companionship with Georgia and Azerbaijan continued with Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline. TANAP is the most recent product of our joint vision. TANAP with a length of 1850 km is the longest natural gas pipeline in Turkey, Middle East and Europe.”

Erdoğan stating that TANAP plans to make the first natural gas delivery to Europe in June 2019, said “TANAP will start off with 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum. 6 billion is being transmitted to Turkey and 10 billion to Europe. We aim to reach an amount of 22 billion cubic meters depending on the demand level and then to 31 billion cubic meters. Turkey has taken another step in becoming a hub with critical role at each ring of the chain extending to ultimate consumers from the producer instead of being a transit country”.

Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev, “Rich gas resources of Azerbaijan will reach the Turkish and European markets in a rapid and reliable manner”

On the other hand, Azerbaijan’s President İlham Aliyev stated during his speech that TANAP is a significant part of the Southern Gas Corridor and will provide the energy security of the Southern Gas Corridor upon joining with TAP. Aliyev stating that numerous negotiations were conducted to transmit Azeri gas to Europe but none of these yielded any results, spoke as follows: “However, Turkey and Azerbaijan came together and brought forward a new project. We have jointly named the project as TANAP. We undersigned the project in 2012 together with Erdoğan. The performance of TANAP project is of vital importance both in technical terms and in financial terms.

Having put TANAP into service creates great opportunities for neighboring and friendly states. Our project combines 7 countries and a number of companies. TAP project will also be completed in two years besides TANAP which is an integral part of the Southern Gas Corridor. The southern gas corridor necessitating an investment of $ 40 billion and which is the most extensive infrastructure project of Europe will thus be put into life. Rich gas resources of Azerbaijan will reach the Turkish and European markets in a rapid and reliable manner. Southern Gas Corridor is an energy security project. Southern Gas Corridor will transmit Azeri gas to Turkish and European markets by new means. It is a project of both new routings and new resources. I extend my thanks to all companies and particularly to SOCAR and BOTAŞ for the realization of these major jobs. Because, these companies were able to complete the project in a short time span.”

“The investment made in the Turkish economy by Azerbaijan will reach $ 20 billion in the future”

Aliyev continued as follows: “Let us accomplish further jobs to transmit Azeri gas to the European continent aiming a wider scope. Today is a historical day. Achieving all this as of today has been by means of a strong political will. The project could have stayed on paper without the fraternity of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Turkey is a very attractive country for foreign capital. An investment of more than $ 13 billion has been made in the Turkish economy by Azerbaijan. This will reach $ 20 billion in the future.”