TANAP: Shah Deniz & Beyond
In his address to delegates at the European Gas Conference in Vienna, Austria, Mr. Reha Aykul Muratoglu, Head of Transit Petroleum Pipelines Department - Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources, Turkey, spoke about his country's two-pronged approach to energy: secure its own natural gas supply security and increase the gas flow across Turkey, specifically via Turkey's piece of the EU's Southern Corridor.
Specifically, the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), he said, would be the backbone of the Southern Corridor, with the necessary legal framework having been established, respective agreements coming into force and commercial decisions having been made by members of the Shah Deniz Consortium in 2013, to deliver natural gas from Azerbaijan.
“Turkey has been promoting the East-West energy corridor concept,” offered Mr Muratoglu, who said that Turkey had a very sustainable and transparent policy in the region. He said, “In the short- to medium-term we are planning to receive as much as 100 BCM of gas into Turkey of which 40 BCM are aimed to be transported to the ultimate destination of Europe.
“Turkey is very well located among the world's largest hydrocarbon resources and consumer markets as well,” he added, naming natural gas producers in Turkey's neighborhood like traditional producers Iran, Iraq and the Russian Federation, but also emerging producers like Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. In the short - to medium-term he said Iraq's gas reserves could play a significant role; as another significant gas producer, Iran shouldn't be ignored either, according to Mr. Muratoglu.
Of Turkmenistan, he said, “At the time there are no physical connections to Turkey or Europe, but I do believe when the TANAP project will be realized and continued with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), I'm more than sure that they will be encouraged to think about gas deliveries via this pipeline.”
Turkey, he recalled, had been serving international energy markets since the 1970s and after the breakup of the Soviet Union had participated in initiatives like the Baku Tblisi Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline in 2006, and was now ready to take part in TANAP.