Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

TANAP, a strategic gas supply project for Turkey and Azerbaijan that will bring gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Turkish and EU consumers has scored another victory with the solemn launch that wiped off all doubts.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian leader Georgi Margvelashvili attended the solemn ceremony.

The official groundbreaking ceremony for TANAP was held on March 17 in the Turkish province of Kars.

The presidents pressed a symbolic button, starting the construction. Afterwards the first pipe was put in the pipeline’s trench.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that a document on the TANAP project was signed in Istanbul three years ago.

“And we are now laying the foundation of this project. The Turkey-Azerbaijan-Georgia unity in the energy sector opens up new horizons. The implementation of the joint energy projects creates new opportunities and jobs for our nations, and increases our political and economic strength,” the president said ahead of the ceremony.

TANAP is a different project from point of view of route and aims, President Erdogan said during the ceremony, TRT Haber news channel reported.

Erdogan noted TANAP isn’t an alternative to any other energy project and therefore the project itself has no alternatives.

The president stressed that TANAP is a project of peace and progress.

The 1,850 kilometer Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) pipeline, which is due to be completed in 2018, will link the existing South Caucasus Pipeline which connects Turkey to the Azerbaijani gas fields in the Caspian Sea, through Georgia.

The cost of the work on all four elements of the Southern Gas Corridor was estimated at almost $45-48 billion, according to the preliminary data.

Speaking at the ceremony President Margvelashvili said Georgia remains a reliable partner in regional energy transportation projects and “despite of difficulties and occupation” of parts of the Georgian territories, Tbilisi “is doing its utmost to prevent obstacles for energy and transport corridor running through Georgia.”

“Wellbeing not only of Georgia, but of our friends – Turkey and Azerbaijan-- also depends on that,” he said.

The launch of the TANAP construction scored another milestone in the European Union's measures to diversify its gas supply following a recent meeting of the first meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor.

Once Baku and Ankara announced their intentions to build TANAP, several European countries voiced doubts, noting the weak feasibility of the project due to small gas volumes, Russia's rivalry and other economic challenges.

However, today Turkey and Azerbaijan are successfully implementing TANAP -- one of the important components of the Southern Gas Corridor designed to pipe natural gas from the Shah Deniz field of Azerbaijan to Italy, offering the European Union an alternative to Russian gas supplies.

TANAP is designed for real volumes of gas from Azerbaijan and the entire Southern Gas Corridor route has already been calculated. Moreover, all volumes of Azerbaijani gas have already been reserved and distributed among the European buyers.

Another important aspect in TANAP’s construction is the EU’s positive attitude toward the project, as well as the signed shareholder agreement between BP and TANAP consortium, under which BP became a shareholder in TANAP.

Baku and Ankara already enjoy their own legacy of energy cooperation -- the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline for exampled which gave Azerbaijan access to different markets. Turkey was Azerbaijan's first gas customer. As for Turkey it gained a new energy link to Europe, which fits within its desire to become a regional energy hub.

That “win win” situation will continue between the two countries regarding the latter project.

The project offers a number of benefits to its direct and indirect participants. The direct benefit of TANAP for Turkey, for example, is approximately $12 billion direct investment into the Turkish economy. The project also will contribute to Turkey's economic-political stability and increase collaboration, integration and partnership in the region.

TANAP, will be Azerbaijan’s first direct accesses to European gas market. Moreover, the project will improve Azerbaijan's role and status as a partner supplying Europe with gas.

The Balkan countries also seek to benefit from the TANAP project. Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia joined Albania in backing Trans-Adriatic Pipeline as they seek to build the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) from TAP's landing point in Albania to supply them with gas as they mainly rely on Russian imports.

The fact that the project enjoys possibility of contributing sources of gas, like from Iraq or the Eastern Mediterranean, will benefit the entire Europe. The Trans Caspian pipeline, a possible pipeline route to bring Turkmen gas to Europe, is also back on the agenda and, once TANAP is in place, Turkmenistan will also be encouraged to transport its gas through the Southern Corridor.

Thus, the project will open up an array of possibilities to all participating countries.

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