Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Trans-Anatolian pipeline (TANAP) has transported over 23 billion cubic meters of gas from the start of commissioning until the end of January 2022, SOCAR Turkey has reported.

Of this, 14.5 billion cubic meters of gas were transported to Turkey and 9 billion cubic meters to Europe.

It was noted that TANAP delivers gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz 2 field to Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

“TANAP, which is a crucial link in the Southern Gas Corridor, not only promotes Azerbaijan’s existing cooperation with the European Union but also makes Azerbaijan the second-largest gas supplier to Turkey and a new gas supplier to the EU,” the report added.

Moreover, during an online press conference, TANAP’s General Director Saltuk Duzyol stated that a total of 16.2 billion cubic meters of gas are expected to be transported through the pipeline in 2022.

The general director noted that the pipeline’s capacity can be expanded to 24 billion cubic meters of gas per year through the construction of additional compressor stations.

He added that this figure can be increased up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year as a result of the construction of additional three compressor stations.

It should be noted that the current TANAP’s capacity is 16 billion cubic meters.

The general director also mentioned that the possibility of transporting hydrogen mixture through TANAP is currently being studied.

He stated that from a technical point of view, the hydrogen content in natural gas transported by TANAP may be at the level of 2 percent. However, he added that the decision has to be made by the suppliers and the buyers.

The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from the Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe. The route from Azerbaijan to Europe consists of the South Caucasus Pipeline, the TANAP and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

TANAP is the central part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which connects the giant Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe through the South Caucasus Pipeline and TAP. The pipeline has strategic importance as it allows the Azerbaijani gas exports to Europe.

The capacity of the pipeline is planned to be increased up to 23 billion cubic meters by 2023, 31 billion cubic meters by 2026, and at the final stage 60 billion cubic meters.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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