Azernews.Az

The exports of Iranian gas will not be affected because of the Trans-Anatolia Pipeline (TANAP), managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), Hossein Bidarmaghz, was quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency as saying.

TANAP is a proposed Azerbaijani-Turkish project that envisages construction of a pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country's western border.

"Iran has several ways of exporting its gas, and TANAP pipeline is not considered dangerous to the country's exports," Bidarmaghz said.

Speaking of a possibility of Turkmenistan joining TANAP, Bidarmaghz noted that it would not be possible.

"Iran and Russia will not allow a pipeline to be built through the Caspian Sea for environmental reasons," Bidarmaghz explained.
The TANAP project is interested in Turkmen gas, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said Wednesday referring to Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Azerbaijan and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the TANAP project in late June.

Initial capacity of the 2,000-kilometer (1,240 mile) pipeline is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters per year. The link may carry 10 billion cubic meters of gas a year to the EU from Shah Deniz, the biggest Azerbaijani gas deposit, while Turkey will buy 6 billion cubic meters.