The Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline
(TANAP) will launch in early June, according to Turkey's President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.
TANAP,
which will carry Azeri gas to Turkey and then on to Europe, is
considered the most important component of the Southern Gas Corridor
(SGC).
"We will open TANAP in early
June," Erdogan said in a press conference after the meeting with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the presidential complex in
Ankara.
"TANAP, as an important part of
the Southern Gas Corridor, will contribute to all of Europe's energy
security not only gas exchange between Turkey and Azerbaijan," he added.
The
project, with an investment of around $7.99 billion, will deliver 6
billion cubic meters of Azeri gas to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters
to Europe.
TANAP is currently 93.5
percent completed. The testing of Phase 0, which started on Jan. 23, and
originates from the Turkey-Georgia border and proceeds up to Turkey's
Eskisehir province, is still ongoing, Saltuk Duzyol, TANAP's general
manager said on Tuesday, April 17 at TANAP's Eskisehir Measurement and
Compressor station where Turkey receives Azeri gas.
The TANAP project has seen the employment of around 13,000 and currently has around 7,000 employed, according to Duzyol.
The
estimated investment cost was $11.7 billion at the start of the
project, but this figure has been revised down to $7.99 billion based on
updates from the procurement process and project management.
Currently,
the Southern Gas Corridor Company holds a 51 percent share, Turkey's
BOTAS has a 30 percent interest, BP holds 12 percent and SOCAR Turkey
has the remaining 7 percent.
- STAR refinery to be open latest in October
Erdogan
also said that the STAR refinery in the Aliaga Peninsula in Turkey,
which is Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR's biggest investment in the
country, will open in September or October.
The refinery has a capacity to process 10 million tons of crude oil per year.
The
facility is currently under construction on a 2,400-hectare site on the
Aliaga Peninsula in the Aegean province of Izmir. Almost 98 percent of
the construction works and 98.7 percent of the project as a whole has
been completed so far, according to a company statement.
The
STAR refinery will process its first product at the end of September,
which will supply domestic markets via tanker trucks, Mesut Ilter, the
general manager of STAR Refinery, was quoted as saying in early March.
The testing of the units will be conducted from July with the aim of safely finalizing the project in due course, Ilter said.
"The
STAR refinery will be one of the important dynamics of the Turkish
economy. When fully operational, we expect to contribute $1.5 billion to
decrease Turkey's current account deficit," Ilter said.
The refinery will be put into service with a total investment of $6.3 billion and backed by Turkey's incentive grant.
The
refinery will produce a wide range of oil products, including 1.6
million tons of naphtha. Diesel, one of the key contributors to the
current account deficit, will also be produced along with jet fuel, and
LPG.
(Anadolu Agency)