Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has received a loan worth $1 billion to increase its stakes in the project on the development of Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz gas condensate field in the Caspian Sea.

The loan agreement, signed among TPAO, Turkey's Vakifbank and Turkiye Is Bankasi in Ankara on August 21, will provide funding for TPAO's acquisition of an additional 10 percent stake in the Shah Deniz project, Anadolu news agency said.

During the signing ceremony, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz underscored the need to increase Botas' stakes in the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) Project from 20 percent to 30 percent.

"Last year, profits from the projects stood at $265 million. We plan to double this amount in 2014-2015 [by means of increasing our stakes in these projects]," the minister said.

On May 30, TPAO and Total Azerbaijan companies signed an agreement on purchase and sale of Total's share in the Shah Deniz project.

The agreement, which was signed in Istanbul, raised TPAO's stakes in the project up to 19 percent.

The Shah Deniz field, one of the world's largest gas-condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. Its reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. The field has proven to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Europe.

The gas which will be produced at the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source of the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of the Caspian gas to European markets.