Tanap Eyes Launch of European Gas Supply
The Trans-Anatolian pipeline (Tanap) should be ready to start sending gas to Europe by July 1, the CEO of the project company announced March 12.
Azerbaijan is preparing to send 16bn m3/yr of output from phase 2 of the giant Shah Deniz field (SD2). Testing on the route will start on April 15, Saltuk Duzyol said.
The pipeline runs via Turkey, which will take 6bn m3/yr. The 1340-km Tanap Phase-0, stretching from the Georgian border to Eskisehir in eastern Turkey started operations in June 2018.
The pipeline will then run to the Greek border. The full 1,850 km span of Tanap is 98% ready, Duzyol said. It is already connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will run from Greece to Italy and is 87% complete, he added. Restricted volumes of SD2 gas are expected to start heading to Europe this summer, with a gradual increase to 10bn m3/yr by 2022.
“From June 30, 2018 to February 28, 2019, Turkey received a total of 1.25bn m3 of SD2 gas via Tanap,” Duzyol noted. “The cumulative volume will reach 2bn m3 by end-June and 4bn m3 by end-2019.”
Tanap is the main surviving element of the European bloc’s Southern Gas Corridor strategy, which aims to tap Caspian sources in order to diversify supply. Azerbaijan’s state-run Socar owns 58% in Tanap. Turkish Botas holds 30% and BP 12%.