Turkey, Azerbaijan to sign crucial energy deal

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

The initial accord for the TANAP was inked December 26 last year. AA photo

Turkey and Azerbaijan will ink a cooperation agreement today for the transfer of Azeri natural gas to Europe via Turkey, under a project called the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP).

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azeri President İlham Aliyev will sign the agreement at the Prime Ministry office, according to an official statement. Energy Minister Taner Yıldız and his Azerbaijani counterpart Natıg Aliyev will be in attendance.

The TANAP will supply gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas fields - which are estimated to be one of the largest in the world - to Europe, through Turkey.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Botaş, Turkey’s state-run oil and gas company, signed an initial accord on December 26 last year.

The pipeline is planned to be constructed in six years, at a total cost of $7 billion. Botaş, Turkey’s state-run oil and gas company, has a 20 percent stake in the TANAP and the rest is owned by SOCAR.