20th March 2015

Southern Gas Corridor steps closer to reality as TANAP construction begins

On 17 March, the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev, formally initiated the construction of the new Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). This 1850-kilometer-long pipeline traversing Turkey will bring Caspian gas to the borders of Greece and Bulgaria as soon as 2018, when it is supposed to be finished. The multibillion project will lessen Turkish and European dependence on Russian gas by importing some 6 billion cubic meters (bcm) to Turkey and further 10 bcm to Southern Italy through the planned Trans-Adriatic Pipeline. TANAP is thus a crucial part of the new Southern Gas Corridor intended to strengthen security of supply for the EU. The pipeline is being constructed by a consortium of the Turkish and Azerbaijani state gas companies, together with the British BP. In the first phase, TANAP will transport gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz II gas field, although the EU already envisages gas from Turkmenistan or Iran as a possible extension of the Southern Gas Corridor.

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Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic