SOCAR: TANAP to be guarantor of European energy security
The Trans Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP) is the guarantor of Europe's energy security, President of Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, who is on a visit to the UK, said in an interview with Turkish Cihan news agency.
Abdullayev said Azerbaijani gas will be transported to Europe via this route.
The TANAP project envisages the construction of a gas pipeline from Turkey's eastern border to the western border to transport gas from Azerbaijan's offshore Shah Deniz field to Europe through Turkey.
Azerbaijani state energy firm SOCAR owns 80 percent in the TANAP project, while Turkish BOTAS holds the remaining 20 percent.
Initial capacity of TANAP is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters a year. Around 6 billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to Europe.
According to preliminary estimates, the cost of the gas pipeline will be around $7 billion. The construction of the pipeline is scheduled to begin in 2014 and finish in 2018.
According to Abdullayev, British politicians are showing a deep interest in SOCAR and are closely following the company's activities.
He stressed that the UK's oil companies implement important energy projects in Azerbaijan, and further cooperation with that country will be extended to cover other sectors of the economy.
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