Azerbaijani parliament ratifies TANAP gas pipeline agreement

The Azerbaijani parliament has confirmed an agreement on the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline system (TANAP). The two governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey also recently ratified the construction of a separate gas pipeline to transport gas to Turkey.

Valeh Alesgerov, the Deputy Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, noted during discussions that Azerbaijan, which previously had no access beyond its borders, currently transports its fuel to the world market using seven pipelines.

"There is a need for new projects to transport Azerbaijani gas to the European market. A new gas pipeline will be constructed based on already held negotiations," Alesgerov said.

According to the Speaker, Azerbaijani gas supplies and that of other Caspian countries are set to increase with discoveries of new reserves, and as such there is a need to construct a new gas pipeline to meet the larger supply volumes.

"Many projects, which envisage supplies of gas to Europe, have been discussed, but no one had the courage to implement any of these projects. However, Azerbaijan has made such a decision. It has begun implementing a project that will ensure connection to Europe's gas pipelines," Alesgerov said.

Earlier this Summer, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement with regards to the Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) project.

At present, BOTAS has a 20% stake in TANAP and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) an 80% share.

The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion m³/yr. Approximately 6 billion m³/yr of the volume will be allocated to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to Europe.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20112012/azerbaijani_parliament_ratifies_tanap_gas_pipeline_agreement/