Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extolled the benefits of the Trans-Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline Project in an article he wrote for the latest issue of The Diplomat magazine, EDNews.net reports citing Anadolu Agency.

In the article “TANAP: Regional Development and Peace Project” published in collaboration with the New York Times, Erdogan emphasized that TANAP is a regional peace project.

"TANAP is a concrete example of the long-lasting trust and friendship between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. It constitutes the main leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, which aims to take the Hazar region's natural gas to Europe through Turkey and Georgia. It is the most important piece of a 3,500-kilometer long corridor." 

Erdogan said Turkey's process of change over the last 18 years created a suitable environment for channeling energy resources from this region to Turkey and Europe. 

"Thanks to our cooperation with Azerbaijan and Georgia, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline was launched and commissioned in 2006. Later, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline was put into operation in 2007 to transport the natural gas produced at Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field to Georgia and Turkey.”

"The first steps for TANAP were taken with an Intergovernmental Agreement signed on 25 October 2011 by Turkey and Azerbaijan. As a result of subsequent negotiations and thanks to the support of both Georgia’s and Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz Field partners, the Intergovernmental Agreement and the Host Government Agreement of TANAP were signed on 26 June 2012 by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“Following the final investment decision taken by the Shah Deniz Field partners for Phase 2 of the project in December 2013, works on the extension of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline, passing through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey, and on the construction of TANAP were accelerated. TANAP was built in a short time span of three years, after the laying of its foundation on 17 March 2015, and it began carrying gas to Turkey on 12 June 2018. In addition, the European connection of TANAP was inaugurated with a ceremony held on 30 November 2019,” Erdogan said in the article.

- Contributing to Turkey's energy security

President Erdogan said he supported each step of the natural gas provision chain, stretching from Georgia and Turkey to Europe. 

Turkey Petroleum is the second biggest investor in the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline with a 19% share. BOTAS, Turkey's state-owned oil and gas trading company, is the second biggest investor in TANAP with a 30% share, said Erdogan.

"Turkey has a key position in the value chain of approximately $45 billion, consisting of the Shah Deniz Phase 2 Project, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline Extension Project, TANAP and Trans-Adriatic Natural Gas Pipeline (TAP). Turkish pipe manufacturers and construction contractors have played an important role in TANAP, which was launched with an investment of approximately $6.5 billion. TANAP, with an annual capacity of 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas transmission, starting from the Georgia-Turkey border and passing through 20 provinces, 67 districts and 600 villages, will make a significant contribution to the energy supply security of Turkey and Europe. “

Erdogan said that in the coming years, TANAP's capacity will rise to 24 billion cubic meters and then to 32 billion cubic meters, its maximum technical capacity.