Intergovermental agreement on TANAP to be signed next week

Azerbaijan and Turkey plan to sign intergovernmental agreement on Trans Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP) next week, Reuters reported with reference to Turkish officials.

"The work has entered its final stage. The inter-governmental agreement is expected to be signed in Istanbul next week," a senior Turkish official told Reuters.

Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a consortium that will build a gas pipeline to supply gas from the Shah Deniz field to Europe through the Turkish territory. At present, BOTAS has a 20 percent stake in TANAP, and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) - 80-percent share.

The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters per year. About six billion cubic meters of the volume will be allocated to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to Europe. At present, Azerbaijan chooses the route for gas exports to Europe via Turkey. Azerbaijan currently exports gas to Turkey via the South Caucasus gas pipeline.

According to another official, the signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement on TANAP is expected to be held on June 26, but it may delay for a few days.

Some experts and officials believe that TANAP may be later connected to the proposed Nabucco West pipeline, which envisages the transportation of Azerbaijani gas from Turkish-Bulgarian border to the EU countries.


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