Turkey could triple Azeri gas buying via TANAP by 2026

"Once the flow in the pipeline reaches 31 bcm, Turkey will be able to buy 21 bcm of this if it wants to"

Turkey could more than triple its purchases of Azeri natural gas once the planned $10 billion TANAP pipeline reaches full capacity in 2026, the general manager of the project told Reuters on Wednesday, APA reports.

Plans call for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to initially carry 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year by mid-2018.

Some 6 bcm of that will be for Turkey, with the rest transiting to Europe.

"Once the flow in the pipeline reaches 31 bcm, Turkey will be able to buy 21 bcm of this if it wants to. Both BOTAS or Turkish private companies can buy this," Saltuk Duzyol said in an interview.

The 1,850 km pipeline stretching from Turkey's border with Georgia to Greece is important to Turkey and to Europe's efforts to lessen its dependence on Russian gas.

The gas will come from Azerbaijan's vast Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea which is being developed by a BP-led consortium.

TANAP will deliver 10 bcm to Europe once it is connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) by 2020. By 2023, TANAP's capacity will rise to 23 bcm per year and then to 31 bcm by 2026, according to project executives. (News.Az)