TANAP Will Make Turkey Leader in Energy Security, PM Says

The Trans-Anatolian Pipeline will enhance Turkey's position as a leader of energy security in Europe, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Agencies reported Erdogan declaring that the TANAP agreement signed last year would be a big boost for Turkey's strategic importance.

Turkish interests have a 20% shareholding in the project, with the majority share held by SOCAR, Azerbaijan's state oil and gas company.

"By signing the document on implementation of TANAP, Azerbaijan and Turkey (turned into major players) in the world energy market," Erdogan said at the weekend.

Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov echoed the sentiments, saying the pipeline effort will play a major role in providing Europe a secure alternative to Russian supplies of natural gas, as well as promoting growth at home. “TANAP will have a great importance in the future as a reliable source in ensuring energy security of Europe,” he said.

The 1,240-mile TANAP pipeline is designed to carry natural gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea through Turkey to its western borders at Greece or Bulgaria. There it could link to Nabucco West, an arm of the European Union-backed project.

Project partners expect to have TANAP built before Shah Deniz starts production by 2017. First exports from the second phase of the Shah Deniz field are expected by 2018.

The proposal was ratified by the Azeri Parliament in November and signed by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on November 26, 2012.

See also: Azeris Pass Measures to Speed TANAP