The Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR’s partners will start on April 1 to finance their shares in the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, according to the company’s president, Rovnag Abdullayev.
He told reporters on March 19 that the TANAP consortium will begin construction of the pipeline’s onshore section before late March.
Abdullayev said three companies – Fernas Insaat A.S., Sicim-Yuksel-Akkord Adi Ortakligi and Tekfen Insaat ve Tesisat A.S. – are the contractors on construction of TANAP’s onshore part, which is to be 1,337 kilometers long.
“The three companies will build a section of the pipeline up to the city of Eskisehir,” he added. “Then, in late 2015 – early 2016, we will complete a tender for the construction of TANAP’s remaining section of 48 inches diameter. We decided to hold it [the tender] later, as the first gas, to go via the gas pipeline, will be received by Turkey in the city of Eskisehir.”
“The gas will go to Europe via a 48-inch part of the pipeline in late 2019 – early 2020, so there is no reason to hurry with the construction of this section,” said Abdullayev.
He also noted that there are no problems with the financing of the TANAP construction project.
Turkey hosted on March 17 a groundbreaking ceremony for TANAP. TANAP envisages the transportation of gas of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey.
TANAP’s initial capacity is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Around six billion cubic meters of this gas will be delivered to Turkey and the rest of the volume to Europe.
Turkey will obtain gas in 2018, and after the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is constructed the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.
