10:49 - 13.06.2018

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June 12, Fineko/abc.az. The launching ceremony of the TANAP Project (Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, part of the Southern Gas Corridor) took place in Turkish city Eskisehir.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated at the inauguration ceremony that the commissioning of TANAP is another manifestation of Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood.

"TANAP is another victory of Turkey and Azerbaijan. TANAP is a historical project. Today, we are writing the energy history of the 21st century. This is history of cooperation and stability. Our energy projects bring stability to the region. All countries and companies involved in such projects benefit, and peoples benefit from them. Implementation of such a huge project as TANAP became possible thanks to the joint strong political will of the leaders of Turkey and Azerbaijan," President Aliyev said.

The Azerbaijani leader pointed out that over the last few years numerous discussions have been held on the supply of large volumes of Azerbaijani gas to the European continent and many events organized, but, unfortunately, all of them were fruitless.

"That is why Turkey and Azerbaijan have come to a decision to put forward a new project, called TANAP. We signed an agreement on TANAP with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul in 2012. Realization of TANAP Project is very difficult, both technically and financially. But we’ve managed with it very successfully. Today, the TANAP commissioning creates excellent opportunities for neighboring and friendly countries. TANAP unites seven countries and many companies. TANAP, an integral part of the Southern Gas Corridor, is an indispensable infrastructure project to address energy security issues today and in the future," President Aliyev underlined.

The Azerbaijani leader added that the official opening ceremony of the Southern Gas Corridor was organized two weeks ago – in Baku on 29 May.

The Corridor consists of four large projects: Shah Deniz 2 (reserves of this gas field total 1.2 trillion cu m), South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP. Three of the four projects have been completed, and TAP has been implemented by 72%.

"I’m sure TAP project will also be completed in the next two years. Thus, the largest infrastructure project in Europe, the Southern Gas Corridor, demanding investment of $40 bn, will be implemented. This historic achievement will allow us to supply Azerbaijan's rich gas resources to the markets of Turkey and Europe in a short and safe way, in a diversified form," the head of state said.

President Aliyev stressed that SOCAR, BOTASH and BP participated in this great work, and they are shareholders of the TANAP Project.

"I want to express my gratitude to them. I’m grateful to all the companies involved for being able to do such a great job with high quality and for a short period. The Southern Gas Corridor forms format of new cooperation and interaction in Eurasia. If at the beginning of our work – in the early 2000s, the format of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey trilateral cooperation was created, today, seven countries are involved in this project. Three more countries will participate in this project as our future partners. We should try to do even more for the supply of Azerbaijani gas to the European continent, so that our sphere of coverage would become even wider,” President Aliyev emphasized.