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By Trend

Azerbaijan will greatly benefit from the launch of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) both in energy and economic terms, well-known Ukrainian economy expert Oleksandr Okhrimenko told Trend.

He was commenting on the opening of TANAP-Europe connection in Ipsala, Turkey.

The Ukrainian expert said that at the same time, this project will seriously strengthen Azerbaijan’s strategic importance in the region and in the world.

“The implementation of the TANAP meets energy and strategic interests of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Europe,” Okhrimenko noted. “Undoubtedly, this event increases the interest of Europe in Azerbaijan as the only country in such a strategically important region as the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is attractive to the EU not only as a supplier of energy resources, but also as a country that acts as the guarantor of Europe’s energy security.”

“This is mainly because Azerbaijan, thanks to a balanced foreign policy in the region and in the world has established itself as a reliable strategic, trade and economic partner with whom serious plans can be made for the implementation of large-scale projects,” the expert added. “Azerbaijan’s contribution to the energy security of the region and Europe was laid back in the mid-1990s, when the start of the country’s energy strategy was determined.”

“Today we see that the energy map of the region is changing, and it is Azerbaijan that plays a key role in this process,” Okhrimenko said. “The adoption of two political decisions in the mid-90s of the last century was crucial in shaping Azerbaijan’s oil and gas policy.”

“The signing of the “Contract of the Century” with 12 companies from 8 countries on Sept. 20, 1994 marked the beginning of Azerbaijan’s new oil strategy,” the expert noted. “As continuation of this strategy, the signing of the contract for the development of the Shah Deniz gas field on June 6, 1996 also played an important role in the energy security of the region. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that Azerbaijan plays a key role in the implementation of projects of global importance.”

Opening ceremony of TANAP's Phase 0 took place on June 12, 2018, in the Turkish province of Eskisehir, and commercial gas deliveries to Turkey began in late June 2018.

The volume of gas transportation to Turkey via TANAP has reached 3.08 billion cubic meters (bcm) since the start of commercial gas supplies on June 30, 2018 as of late October 2019.

The initial capacity of TANAP, which is the main segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, is 16 billion cubic meters of gas.

Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be supplied to Turkey while the remaining volume - to Europe. After the completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) construction, gas will be supplied to Europe in early 2020.

The share distribution of TANAP shareholders is as follows: Southern Gas Corridor CJSC - 51 percent, SOCAR Turkey Enerji - 7 percent, Botas - 30 percent, BP - 12 percent.

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