Top official: TANAP to become largest project of XXI century
The political support for the project of Trans Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) will be expressed in the future, head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration's Social and Political Department Ali Hasanov told reporters in Istanbul on Thursday, Trend news agency reported.
"Presently, Azerbaijan and Turkey are the leaders of the TANAP project. The heads of these two states are also the initiators of the project. TANAP will literally be the largest project of XXI century, which will provide transportation of hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea to Europe and to the world markets," Hasanov noted.
He added that leading oil and gas companies will join the TANAP project in the near future.
"The implementation of the project is expected in the near future. It is a pipeline, which will connect the energy-rich Caspian Sea with European and world countries, which need gas resources. We will see the success of the pipeline in the near future," Hasanov said.
Presently, a 20-percent share in TANAP belongs to Turkish BOTAS and TPAO, while 80 percent is owned by Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR. According to the preliminary data, the partners intend to distribute a 29-percent share in TANAP as follows: Statoil and BP - 12 percent each, and Total - five percent.
SOCAR intends to retain 51 percent of the equity in the project. Turkey will keep 20 percent of the equity.
TANAP project envisages construction of the pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country's western border to supply gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey.
The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest - to Europe.