Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is able to deliver 16 billion cubic meters of gas right away, head of TANAP consortium Saltuk Duzyol said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“There is a ramp up period. For the first year we were expected to deliver 2 billion cubic meters of gas contractually. But till now, we’ve delivered approximately 2.5 billion cubic meters to Turkey. According to the ramp up period, in the second year our commitment is to deliver 4 billion cubic meters to Turkey. So, it will reach a total amount of 6 billion cubic meters for Turkey and we will reach the plateau period,” he explained.
Duzyol noted that there is a similar ramp up period for delivering gas to Europe.
“But in total, when we reach the plateau period for each side, for Turkey and Europe, we will have delivered 16 billion cubic meters. TANAP’s reaching 16 billion cubic meters of capacity totally depends on TAP project’s readiness. Frankly speaking, we can deliver 16 billion cubic meters of gas as of today. We are ready. But according to the sale and purchase agreement between the parties, between the sellers and buyers, there is a ramp up period, because the customer needs vary year-by-year. So it is a totally commercial agreement, in which we are not involved as TANAP project. TANAP is a transmission business, we are not trading gas. Trading is a business of our buyers and sellers. For the moment we are able to deliver 16 billion cubic meters of gas right away,” said the consortium head.
The TANAP pipeline runs from the Georgian-Turkish border to the country’s western border with Greece. TANAP, together with the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), is part of the Southern Gas Corridor project, which provides the transportation of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Europe.
The initial capacity of the TANAP pipeline is expected to be 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year. About 6 billion cubic meters will be supplied to Turkey, while the rest will be supplied to Europe. After the completion of the construction of TAP, gas flow to Europe will being by early 2020.
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