Laser scanners, sensors to protect key Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline

ANKARA

TANAP aims to start carrying 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year by 2018 or 2019 from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea.

he Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), a $12 billion investment that is projected to carry Azerbaijani gas to western Turkey, will be constantly monitored and protected via high-tech methods, according to a draft environmental impact assessment report.

The monitoring system for the 1,085-kilometer pipeline will be accessible from its stations and planned control chambers, the report said.

The staff and vehicle identification system will be decorated with digital equipment, which will ease detecting any attacks on the pipeline and its stations, Anadolu Agency reported May 29. 

Turkey’s oil pipelines in the southeastern provinces have suffered from both terrorist attacks and theft.

Vital for Turkey, Europe

The planned security system merges optical sensors, motion perception cables and laser scanners to eye compressors, gas valves and pigging and measuring stations. Surveillance cameras will also contribute to security.

An illumination system will also ease reactions against any problems, the report said. Security staff will be trained on action plans and procedures, it said.

The observing system is designed to provide accurate data and visual material in the case of an emergency, it also said.

Energy-hungry Turkey is raising high hopes on the pipeline, which is projected to bring in annually 16 billion cubic meters (bmc) of gas to Turkey initially, as the country is trying to break its Russian dependency for its largest product of imports.

The gas will be shipped across Turkey and eventually into Italy through TANAP, which will link to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), whose partners include BP and Statoil.

Azerbaijan’s giant Shah Deniz II is expected to supply 10 billion bcm per year to Europe, in addition to the 6 bcm that Turkey will keep for its own needs.

Europe is also hopeful of the project in terms of reducing the share of Russian gas it consumes.

“This is a major milestone for the diversification of our energy supplies, to the benefit of European consumers and businesses,” Reuters had quoted European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso as saying at the end of last year.

The state of Azerbaijan will pay $7 billion for the project, while Turkey’s state-run pipeline company will contribute between $3 billion to $5 billion and the rest will be financed by BP, another partner, daily Hurriyet has reported. The project executives have said the pipeline will be operative as of 2018.