TANAP: BP agreement should happen soon

The Trans-Anatoliann gas pipeline (TANAP) project expects BP to resolve outstanding issues soon to become a stakeholder in the multi-billion dollar project that aims to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian gas, a TANAP official said on Wednesday.

Magsud Mammad, the TANAP External Relations Director, told reporters on the sidelines of an energy summit in Montenegro that talks with BP, which said in 2013 it wanted a 12% stake in the project, were ongoing.

"The agreement is still pending," Mammad said. "It is all about technical problems which should be resolved soon. We have certain technical differences but I don't think there's going to be a pull out by BP," he said.

Azeri firm SOCAR holds a 58% stake in TANAP, while Turkish pipeline company Botas raised its stake to 30% (from 20%) in 2014.

TANAP will carry 16 billion m³/yr of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea, one of the world's largest gas fields, which is being developed by a BP-led consortium.

In December 2013 the US$45 billion final investment decision on the Southern Energy Corridor was signed between the BP-led Shah Deniz Consortium and the Azerbaijani government. Groundbreaking took place at the Sangachal Terminal in September 2014, and it is expected that the first gas will arrive in Turkey in 2020. The gas will pass through the South Caucasus Pipeline expansion (SCPX), the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Reuters, APA

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