FT: Tanap - Pipeline offers security with demand for energy growing
In the world of natural gas, geography is everything. And for Turkey, located between the rich gasfields of the Caspian and north Middle East and the gas-hungry markets of the EU, geography is about to become destiny with the construction of the planned Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (Tanap).
A joint venture between Turkey and Azerbaijan, its eastern neighbour, Tanap is expected to begin by carrying gas from the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea with a possible later expansion to carry gas from Turkmenistan and other Caspian states.
Planned to be commissioned in 2018, Tanap will initially supply 6bn cu m/yr of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Turkey, with a further 10bn cu m/yr crossing Turkey on its way to Europe.
Good news for Turkey, where demand is expected to exceed its existing import portfolio within two to three years, but even better news for the EU which has long been looking to secure access to new supplies to reduce reliance on existing sources. Chief among those is Russia’s Gazprom, which meets about 25 per cent of EU gas demand, and in September became the subject of an anti-trust case by the EU.