TANAP Construction May Begin This Year, Says Turkish PM

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that construction of the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to export Azeri gas to European markets through Turkey could begin this year. "The agreement for TANAP has been approved in the parliaments of both sides," Erdogan said in a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, which was broadcast on Turkish news channels.

The projected pipeline will carry Azeri gas to Turkey and other markets in Europe. Turkey has a 20% stake in TANAP, while Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR holds an 80% stake.

Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on June 26, 2012, for TANAP that would be actualized in six years with an investment of $7 billion. The projected TANAP pipeline can be ramped up to 30 billion cubic meters per year to include gas from other offshore gas fields being developed in Azerbaijan and other Caspian producers, such as Turkmenistan. For additional information, see November 28, 2012, article - Azerbaijan Backs TANAP Project to Export Gas to Europe.

Erdogan criticized the European Union for not making any visible progress in the Nabucco pipeline project, which would transport gas to Europe via Turkey. "This is a problem for the European Union, which has to supply 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year," he said.

TANAP is also competing with the South Stream pipeline, which will carry Russian gas to Europe under the Black Sea, bypassing Belarus and Ukraine. Last month, OAO Gazprom (OTC:OGZPY) (Moscow, Russia), Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly, announced its plans to invest $16.9 billion in a gas transportation system. For additional information, see January 31, 2013, article - Russia's Gazprom Plans to Invest $16.9 Billion in Gas Transportation System to South Stream Pipeline .

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