Yildiz Confirms TANAP Signing Imminent

Turkish Minister for Energy Taner Yildiz has confirmed media reports that an intergovernmental agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan on the Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) could be signed next week.

Speaking today at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in Russia, Minister Yildiz said that an agreement was near, "most probably" to be signed next week, depending on government schedules.

"We are very close to signing an agreement with Azerbaijan on TANAP..." the Dow Jones news agency reports him as saying. "The agenda of the leaders will affect when it is signed."

Mr. Yildiz also said that the project was very important to the EU and its members and its energy supply and security.

The intergovernmental agreement will give official support to the 16 billion cubic metre capacity Trans Anatolian pipeline.

The consortium involved in the pipeline are Azeri and Turkish companies, with State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) holding an 80 per cent stake in the pipeline and Turkey's Botas and TPAO holding a ten per cent stake each.

The signing of an intergovernmental agreement will further an existing agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ratified in Turkey in May.