Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline is 77 pct complete

By Dilara Zengin

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline's (TANAP) is 77 percent finished and is set for completion in its entirety next year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday.

Speaking at the presidential session at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, of which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner, Aliyev stated that projects such as the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tblisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline and TANAP contribute to not only regional but also the global energy map.

The history of Azerbaijan's petroleum industry began in 1994 when heavy investments in the sector began, Aliyev said.

Azerbaijan has become a producer and exporter of oil and natural gas, he added.

The country will be in a position to supply neighboring countries in its region and also some European countries, with its 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas reserves, he stressed.

Referring to the Southern Gas Corridor, that includes three major pipeline projects, Aliyev said that 93 percent of the Shah Deniz project, 87 percent of the South Caucasus pipeline and 44 percent of the Trans Adriatic Project (TAP) have been completed together with 77 percent of TANAP.

The corridor involves the expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia, the construction of TANAP from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Europe and the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) through Greece, Albania and into Italy and onto Western Europe, with the ultimate aim of bringing natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Aliyev remarked that the whole project requires $40 billion worth of investment.

Three Balkan nations expressed their willingness to join the Southern Gas Corridor, Aliyev said, without identifying which countries showed interest.

"We are expanding the geography of that project, we can take it even further," he added.