A top Azerbaijani oil official has announced that approximately 850 km of pipes has been produced to be laid for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP).
Speaking live on local station ANS TV, Vagif Aliyev, General Manager of the Investments Division at the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), said that TANAP’s progress is in line with scheduled plans.
He said on January 6th that the current route from the Georgia-Turkey borders to Eskishehir, 1350 km in length, is being constructed and that “all preparation activities are completed and the practical phase has started.”
Of the 850 km of pipes produced, 600 km were tested and delivered to contractors to be laid.
The TANAP Consortium awarded Fernas Insaat, Sicim-Yuksel-Akkord and Tekfen Holding rights to build the 56-inch line that will start from the Georgia-Turkey border and run westward to the Turkish town of Eskishehir. The companies won a tender for three lots for 1337 km of the pipeline route.
Aliyev added that to accelerate the laying of pipes, some 230 km of the tested pipes must be welded.
The TANAP Project, along with the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), form the elements of the Southern Gas Corridor, aimed to transit Azerbaijani gas (from Shah Deniz Stage 2) to Turkey (6 bcm/y) and Europe (10 bcm/y).
Shah Deniz Stage 2 gas will make a 3,500 km journey from the Caspian Sea into Europe.
CEVA Logistics signed a deal with TANAP to manage logistics operations for the movement of giant pipes.
Turkish companies Borusan Mannesmann, Noksel Celik Boru and Erciyas Celik Boru are supplying pipes for the TANAP project.
Alongside them, Baosteel Europe GmbH, Toscelik Profil, Sac Endustrisi A.S, Umran Celik Boru Sanayii A.S., Emek Boru Makina Sanayi and Ticaret A.S. are also engaged in supplying pipes for TANAP.
The 1850 km-long TANAP project is composed of 7 compressor stations, 4 measuring stations, 11 pigging stations, 49 block valve stations and 2 off-take stations to supply Turkey’s national natural gas network.
Total transit capacity is 30 bcm/a with cost estimates expected at around $10-11 billion. However,head of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev said in November that the cost of construction of TANAP decreased by 20-25 % cheaper on previous cost estimates. He added that the decline of costs is a result of the decreasing price of materials.
