World Bank: Azerbaijan Megaproject Will Help Develop Regional Trade

The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) will promote the development of regional trade and help strengthen regional ties, says the World Bank (WB).

"TANAP is one of the priority projects for Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and the countries of South-East Europe. Helping countries to implement bold and ambitious projects such as TANAP represents the commitment of the World Bank Group to support the development priorities of the countries," the bank stated.

The WB highlighted that TANAP is a project that will allow the transportation of natural gas from a gas field in Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

“In particular, the project aims to help Turkey ensure energy supply, and Azerbaijan to diversify its gas sales markets,” noted the WB.

The World Bank believes that TANAP will not only increase competitiveness and create more economic opportunities in Azerbaijan and Turkey, but will also support regional trade, improve connectivity and support energy security in Turkey and Europe.

"Given the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor project for all participating countries, international financial organizations such as the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investments and the Asian Development Bank decided to support this project," the WB said.

On June 12, the opening ceremony of TANAP was held in the Turkish province of Eskisehir with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili.

And on May 29 in Baku, the ceremony of launching the first stage of the project "Southern Gas Corridor" was held.

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) consists of three pipelines: the South Caucasus pipeline across Azerbaijan and Georgia, the TANAP pipeline across Turkey, and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) across Greece and Albania, with an offshore section to southern Italy.

The first gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field has already passed through the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Sangachal terminal, extended by Shah Deniz-2 through the expanded South Caucasus gas pipeline. The next stage was the commissioning of the TANAP gas pipeline, through which gas will flow into Turkey and further to Europe.

The TANAP pipeline is laid from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey. TANAP, together with another gas pipeline, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), is part of the "Southern Gas Corridor" project, which provides for the transportation of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field to Europe.

The initial throughput capacity of the TANAP pipeline is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. After the completion of the TAP, gas will be delivered to Europe starting around the beginning of 2020.

The share distribution of TANAP shareholders is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC – 51%, SOCAR Turkey Enerji – 7%, Botas – 30%, BP – 12%.

By Dimitri Dolaberidze

09 July 2018 18:07